Where does “പഞ്ചാബ്” come from?
പഞ്ചാബ് (Malayalam) comes from Hindi पंजाब, from Persian پنجاب, from Persian آب, from Arabic آب, from Classical Syriac ܐܒ, from Aramaic אב, from Akkadian Abum, from Proto-Semitic ʔabw- — father.
Ancestry of “പഞ്ചാബ്”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hindi | पंजाब | — |
| 2 | Persian | پنجاب | the Five Rivers |
| 3 | Persian | آب | water; liquid; juice |
| 4 | Arabic | آب | to return, to come back; to repent; to incur,... |
| 5 | Classical Syriac | ܐܒ | August |
| 6 | Aramaic | אב | absolute form of אַבָּא |
| 7 | Akkadian | Abum | Abu, the fifth month of the Babylonian calendar (approximately July-August) |
| 8 | Proto-Semitic | ʔabw- | father |
| 9 | Proto-Afroasiatic | ʔab- | father |