Devar
/ˈdeɪ.vər/noun
A husband’s younger brother, especially in South Asian kinship terminology.
Did you know?Devar is related to Latin levir, the source of levirate—the historical custom in which a widow could marry her deceased husband’s brother, though devar itself simply means the kinship relation.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*daiwēr
“Husband’s brother, a specific in-law relationship”
Vedic Sanskrit
Sanskrit
devará
“Husband’s brother, generally understood as the younger brother”
Middle Indo-Aryan
Prakrit
devara
“Husband’s brother”
Medieval Indo-Aryan
Apabhraṃśa
devara
“A husband’s brother within the extended family”
Modern period
Hindi
devar
“Husband’s younger brother”
Modern English
English
devar
“A South Asian kinship loanword for a husband’s younger brother”