Etymograph

English

yoga

Yoga comes from Sanskrit योग ‘yoking, union’, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *yáwgas ‘team, yoke’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *yewg- ‘to join’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yewg-1‘to join’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yéwg-o-s1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*yáwgas1‘team’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Indo-Aryanprehistoric (reconstructed)*yáwgas1reconstructed
  5. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEयोग1yóga‘yoking’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1979yoga1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English yoga
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1979, Rupert Holmes, Escape (The Piña Colada Song): “If you're not into yoga / If you have…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yewg-Wiktionary, English yoga‘to join’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yéwg-o-sWiktionary, English yogareconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*yáwgasWiktionary, English yoga‘team’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Indo-Aryanprehistoric (reconstructed)*yáwgasWiktionary, English yogareconstructed
  5. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEयोगWiktionary, English yogayóga‘yoking’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1979yogaWiktionary, English yoga. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1979, Rupert Holmes, Escape (The Piña Colada Song): “If you're not into yoga / If you have…”

Linked words

pairs

  • yoga and yoke both from Proto-Indo-European *yewg- ‘to join, yoke’

through Proto-Indo-European *yewg- ‘to join’

join, junction, adjunct, yogi, 51 more

Another origin of yoga

  1. Chamorromodernyoga
  2. Englishtodayyoga

Today it means

noun Any of several Hindu or Buddhist disciplines aimed at training the consciousness for a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquillity; especially a system of exercises practiced to promote control of the body and mind.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “yoga”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *yewg- / yoga

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