Vṛddhi
/ˈvr̩d̪.dʱi/noun
In Sanskrit grammar, vṛddhi is the strongest form of vowel gradation, often involving lengthening or diphthongization.
Did you know?Pāṇini used vṛddhi as a technical grammatical category, showing how ancient Sanskrit treated sound change as a structured system of expansion and intensification.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wr̥dʰ-tí-
“Growth, increase, or becoming greater”
Proto-Indo-Iranian
PIIranian
*wṛ́dʰtis
“Growth or increase”
Vedic Sanskrit
Sanskrit
vṛddhi
“Growth, increase, prosperity; a strengthened linguistic form”
4th Century BCE
Sanskrit
vṛddhi
“A formal grammatical grade in Pāṇini’s analysis of Sanskrit”
19th Century
English
vṛddhi
“A technical term borrowed into comparative and Sanskrit linguistics”
Modern English
English
vṛddhi
“The strongest Indo-European vowel grade or its Sanskrit grammatical counterpart”