Yavan
/ˈjɑː.vən/noun
An ancient name for Greeks or Greek-speaking foreigners, especially in Sanskrit and Hebrew traditions.
Did you know?In India, Yavana scholars became associated with Greek astronomy and astrology; the Sanskrit Yavanajātaka preserves a major adaptation of Greek horoscopic traditions.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*Yāwones
“A reconstructed ethnonym associated with Ionian Greeks”
Ancient Greek
Greek
Iā́ones
“Ionians, Greek inhabitants of the Aegean region”
6th–5th Century BCE
Old Persian
Yaunā
“Greeks, used in Achaemenid Persian inscriptions”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
Yāvān
“Javan, traditionally representing the Greeks or Ionian peoples”
3rd Century BCE onward
Sanskrit
Yavana
“Greek; later, a foreigner or western outsider”
2nd–4th Century CE
Sanskrit
Yavanajātaka
““Greek nativity,” a Sanskrit work transmitting Greek horoscopic astrology”
Modern English
English
Yavan
“A transliterated historical name for Greeks or Greek-speaking peoples”