Where does “تم” come from?
تم (Urdu) comes from Sauraseni Apabhramsa तुम्हि, from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀢𑀼𑀫𑁆𑀳𑁂, from Ashokan Prakrit 𑀢𑀼𑀨𑁂, from Sanskrit युष्मद् — the base of the second-person pronoun.
تم (Urdu): you, ye
Ancestry of “تم”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Sauraseni Apabhramsa | तुम्हि | — |
| 2 | Sauraseni Prakrit | 𑀢𑀼𑀫𑁆𑀳𑁂 | you all; second-person plural personal pronoun |
| 3 | Ashokan Prakrit | 𑀢𑀼𑀨𑁂 | — |
| 4 | Sanskrit | युष्मद् | the base of the second-person pronoun |