नक्त्

Sanskrit

Alternative scripts

Etymology

    Inherited from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts. Cognate with Ancient Greek νῠ́ξ (nŭ́x), Latin nox, Lithuanian naktis, Old English niht (whence English night).

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    नक्त् • (nákt) stemf (Vedic)

    1. night
      • c. 1500 BCE – 1000 BCE, Ṛgveda 7.71.1:
        अप॒ स्वसु॑र् उ॒षसो॒ नग् जि॑हीते रि॒णक्ति॑ कृ॒ष्णीर् अ॑रु॒षाय॒ पन्था॑म् ।
        ápa svásur uṣáso nág jihīte riṇákti kṛṣṇī́r aruṣā́ya pánthām.
        The Night retireth from the Dawn her Sister; the Dark one yieldeth to the Red her pathway.

    Declension

    Feminine root-stem declension of नक्त्
    singular dual plural
    nominative नक् (nák) नक्तौ॑ (náktau)
    नक्ता॑¹ (náktā¹)
    नक्तः॑ (náktaḥ)
    accusative नक्त॑म् (náktam) नक्तौ॑ (náktau)
    नक्ता॑¹ (náktā¹)
    नक्तः॑ (náktaḥ)
    instrumental न॒क्ता (naktā́) न॒ग्भ्याम् (nagbhyā́m) न॒ग्भिः (nagbhíḥ)
    dative न॒क्ते (nakté) न॒ग्भ्याम् (nagbhyā́m) न॒ग्भ्यः (nagbhyáḥ)
    ablative न॒क्तः (naktáḥ) न॒ग्भ्याम् (nagbhyā́m) न॒ग्भ्यः (nagbhyáḥ)
    genitive न॒क्तः (naktáḥ) न॒क्तोः (naktóḥ) न॒क्ताम् (naktā́m)
    locative न॒क्ति (naktí) न॒क्तोः (naktóḥ) न॒क्षु (nakṣú)
    vocative नक् (nák) नक्तौ॑ (náktau)
    नक्ता॑¹ (náktā¹)
    नक्तः॑ (náktaḥ)
    • ¹Vedic

    Attested are nom.sg. नक् (nák), acc.sg. नक्त॑म् (náktam) and nom./acc.du. नक्ता॑ (náktā). Rigvedic attestations from other stems are acc.pl. नक्तीः॑ (náktīḥ) and instr.pl. न॒क्तभिः॑ (naktábhiḥ).

    Derived terms

    References

    • Mayrhofer, Manfred (1996), “nákt-”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎[1] (in German), volume II, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, pages 2-3
    • Lubotsky, Alexander (2011), “nákt-”, in The Indo-Aryan Inherited Lexicon (in progress) (Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Project), Leiden University, page 326
    • Wackernagel, Jakob (1896-1964), Altindische Grammatik [Grammar of Ancient Indian] (Indogermanische Bibliothek. 2. Reihe: Wörterbücher)‎[2] (in German), Vol. III: Nominalflexion – Zahlwort – Pronomen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, published 1930, pages 233-4