Where does “pandai” come from?
pandai (Malay) comes from Old Javanese paṇḍe, from Maharastri Prakrit 𑀧𑀁𑀟𑀺𑀅, from Sanskrit पण्डित, from Sanskrit -इत, from Proto-Indo-Iranian -tás, from Proto-Indo-European -tós — Creates verbal adjectives from verb stems.
Ancestry of “pandai”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Javanese | paṇḍe | — |
| 2 | Maharastri Prakrit | 𑀧𑀁𑀟𑀺𑀅 | a wise man |
| 3 | Sanskrit | पण्डित | learned, wise, shrewd, clever, skilful in,... |
| 4 | Sanskrit | -इत | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | -tás | Creates verbal adjectives from verb stems |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -tós | Creates verbal adjectives from verb stems |