Shri
/ʃriː/noun
A respectful title or honorific used before a person’s name, especially in South Asian languages and English contexts.
Did you know?In Hindu tradition, Shri is closely associated with Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, beauty, fortune, and auspicious abundance.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*śrēy-es
“A reconstructed root associated with excellence, beauty, or prosperity; the exact reconstruction is debated.”
Vedic Sanskrit
Sanskrit
śrī́
“Radiance, beauty, prosperity, fortune, and sacred splendor; also a name or epithet of Lakshmi.”
Classical Sanskrit
Sanskrit
śrī
“An honorific meaning revered, illustrious, or prosperous, placed before names and titles.”
Middle Indo-Aryan
Pali/Prakrit
siri
“Prosperity, glory, beauty, or auspicious fortune.”
Medieval South Asia
Indo-Aryan
śrī
“A formal honorific and a term invoking auspiciousness, wealth, or divine favor.”
Modern English
English
Shri
“A South Asian honorific, commonly used before a man’s name and sometimes retained in names of institutions or places.”