Where does “پنجاب” come from?

پنجاب (Punjabi) comes from Persian پنجاب, from Persian آب, from Arabic آب, from Classical Syriac ܐܒ, from Aramaic אב, from Akkadian Abum, from Proto-Semitic ʔabw-, from Proto-Afroasiatic ʔab- — father.

Ancestry of “پنجاب”, step by step

پنجاب traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Persian پنجاب

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Persianپنجابthe Five Rivers
2Persianآبwater; liquid; juice
3Arabicآبto return, to come back; to repent; to incur,...
4Classical SyriacܐܒAugust
5Aramaicאבabsolute form of אַבָּא
6AkkadianAbumAbu, the fifth month of the Babylonian calendar (approximately July-August)
7Proto-Semiticʔabw-father
8Proto-Afroasiaticʔab-father

via Classical Persian پنجاب

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Classical Persianپنجاب
2Classical Persianآبwater

via Classical Persian پَنْجَاب

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Classical Persianپَنْجَاب

Words derived from “پنجاب

Every word from Proto-Afroasiatic ʔab-Every word from Proto-Semitic ʔabw-Every word from Akkadian Abum