Where does “issā” come from?
issā (Pali) comes from Sanskrit ऋक्ष, from Proto-Indo-Aryan Hŕ̥ṭṣas, from Proto-Indo-Iranian Hŕ̥ćšas, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ŕ̥tḱos, from Proto-Indo-European h₂r̥tḱós — destroying.
Ancestry of “issā”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Sanskrit | ऋक्ष | a bear; a species of ape; "Oroxylum indicum" |
| 2 | Proto-Indo-Aryan | Hŕ̥ṭṣas | bear |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | Hŕ̥ćšas | bear |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ŕ̥tḱos | bear |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂r̥tḱós | destroying |