Soma
/ˈsoʊ.mə/noun
The body; in biology, a cell body or the main living body of an organism.
Did you know?In ancient Sanskrit, *soma* was both the name of a ritual drink and the deified plant or moon-associated power behind it, making the word part sacrament, part cosmic mystery.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*tewh₂- / *dʰeh₁-?
“Uncertain prehistory; the English word belongs to a much older Indo-European body-word family, but the exact PIE source is debated in scholarship.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
σῶμα (sôma)
“Body; a living body or corpse.”
Classical Sanskrit
Sanskrit
सोम (soma)
“The sacred ritual drink, its plant source, and a divine personification associated with it.”
Late 19th Century
English
soma
“A term borrowed in scientific and philosophical contexts for the body, especially as distinct from mind or germ cells.”
Modern English
English
soma
“The body; in biology, the main body of a cell or organism, excluding reproductive cells.”
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