Where does “佛” come from?

佛 (Middle Chinese) comes from Pali Buddha, from Sanskrit बुद्ध, from Proto-Indo-Aryan buddʰás, from Proto-Indo-Iranian bʰudᶻdʰás, from Proto-Indo-European bʰudʰtós, from Proto-Indo-European bʰewdʰ- — to be awake, be aware.

Ancestry of “佛”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1PaliBuddhaBuddha, the enlightened one
2Sanskritबुद्धawake; enlightened, conscious, intelligent,...
3Proto-Indo-Aryanbuddʰás—
4Proto-Indo-Iranianbʰudᶻdʰásaware, awake
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰudʰtósaware
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰewdʰ-to be awake, be aware

Words derived from “佛”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰewdʰ- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰudʰtós →Every word from Proto-Indo-Iranian bʰudᶻdʰás →