Hindi

अश्व

Noun

अश्व • ‎(aśv) m

1. horse

Declension

Synonyms

• घोड़ा ‎(ghoṛā)
• तुरग ‎(turag)

Sanskrit

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-Iranian [Term?] (compare Avestan 𐬀𐬯𐬞𐬀 ‎(aspa), Old Persian 𐎠𐎿𐎱 ‎(aspa)), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁éḱwos ‎(“horse”) (compare Lithuanian ašva, Ancient Greek ἵππος ‎(híppos) and Latin equus), possibly from *h₁oh₁ḱus ‎(“swift”), whence also Sanskrit आशु ‎(āśú, “fast, quick”).

Noun

अश्व • ‎(áśva) m

1. horse, stallion
   • RV 1.161.3b

     अग्निं दूतं परति यदब्रवीतनाश्वः कर्त्वो रथ उतेह कर्त्वः |

     धेनुः कर्त्वा युवशा कर्त्वा दवा तानि भरातरनु वः कर्त्व्येमसि ||

     aghniṃ dūtaṃ prati yadabravītanāśvaḥ kartvo ratha uteha kartvaḥ |

     dhenuḥ kartvā yuvaśā kartvā dvā tāni bhrātaranu vaḥ kṛtvyemasi ||

     What to the envoy Agni in reply ye spake, A courser must be made, a chariot fashioned here,

     A cow must be created, and the Twain made young. When we have done these things, Brother, we turn to you.

2. (chess) knight
3. the number "seven" (that being the number of the horses of the sun)
4. Sagittarius
5. a particular kind of lover (horse-like in strength)
6. name of a teacher (with the patronym Sāmudri)
7. name of a son of Citraka
8. name of a Dānava

Declension

Derived terms

• अश्वति ‎(aśvati) (aśvati)
• अश्वक ‎(aśvaka) (aśvaká)
• अश्वत्थामन् ‎(aśvatthāman)

Descendants

• Hindi: अश्व ‎(aśv)
• Sinhalese: අශ්වය ‎(aśvaya)
• Telugu: అశ్వము ‎(aśvamu)

References

• Sir Monier Monier-Williams (1898) A Sanskrit-English dictionary etymologically and philologically arranged with special reference to cognate Indo-European languages, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 0114
• Alexander Lubotsky, A Rgvedic Word Concordance, American Oriental Society, 1997, lemma áśva