Where does “kinnara” come from?
kinnara (Pali) comes from Sanskrit किंनर, from Sanskrit नर, from Sanskrit नृ, from Proto-Indo-Iranian Hnā́, from Proto-Indo-European h₂nḗr — man; power, force, vital energy.
Ancestry of “kinnara”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sanskrit | किंनर | a mythical being with a human figure and the head of a horse (or with a horse's body and the head of a man, originally perhaps a kind of monkey) |
| 2 | Sanskrit | नर | a human, a person; a male person; a husband |
| 3 | Sanskrit | नृ | a man; hero; mankind, people |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | Hnā́ | man |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂nḗr | man; power, force, vital energy |