Sanskrit

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Alternative scripts

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Etymology

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From Proto-Indo-Iranian *ćŕ̥Has, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱŕ̥h₂-os, from *ḱerh₂- (head); see there for more. Cognate with Avestan 𐬯𐬁𐬭𐬀 (sāra), Persian سر (sar), Latin cerebrum.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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शिरस् (śíras) stemn

  1. (anatomy) head, skull
    • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 3.51:
      इ॒दं ह्यन्वोज॑सा सु॒तं रा॑धानां पते । पिबा॒ त्व१॒॑स्य गि॑र्वणः ॥ यस्ते॒ अनु॑ स्व॒धामस॑त्सु॒ते नि य॑च्छ त॒न्वं॑ । स त्वा॑ ममत्तु सो॒म्यं ॥ प्र ते॑ अश्नोतु कु॒क्ष्योः प्रेन्द्र॒ ब्रह्म॑णा॒ शिरः॑ । प्र बा॒हू शू॑र॒ राध॑से ॥
      idáṃ hyánvójasā sutáṃ rādhānāṃ pate. píbā tvàsyá girvaṇaḥ. yáste ánu svadhā́másatsuté ní yaccha tanvàṃ. sá tvā mamattu somyáṃ. prá te aśnotu kukṣyóḥ préndra bráhmaṇā śíraḥ. prá bāhū́ śūra rā́dhase.
      So, Lord of affluent gifts, this juice hath been pressed for thee with strength. Drink of it, thou who lovest song. Incline thy body to this juice which suits thy Godlike nature well. May it cheer thee who lovest it. Brave Indra, let it work through both thy flanks, and through thy head by prayer, and through thine arms, to prosper us.
  2. the upper end or highest part of anything, top, peak, summit, pinnacle, acme
  3. the forepart or van (of an army)
  4. the beginning (of a verse)
  5. the head, leader, chief, foremost, first (of a class)

Declension

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Neuter as-stem declension of शिरस् (śíras)
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative शिरः
śíraḥ
शिरसी
śírasī
शिरांसि
śírāṃsi
Vocative शिरः
śíraḥ
शिरसी
śírasī
शिरांसि
śírāṃsi
Accusative शिरः
śíraḥ
शिरसी
śírasī
शिरांसि
śírāṃsi
Instrumental शिरसा
śírasā
शिरोभ्याम्
śírobhyām
शिरोभिः
śírobhiḥ
Dative शिरसे
śírase
शिरोभ्याम्
śírobhyām
शिरोभ्यः
śírobhyaḥ
Ablative शिरसः
śírasaḥ
शिरोभ्याम्
śírobhyām
शिरोभ्यः
śírobhyaḥ
Genitive शिरसः
śírasaḥ
शिरसोः
śírasoḥ
शिरसाम्
śírasām
Locative शिरसि
śírasi
शिरसोः
śírasoḥ
शिरःसु
śíraḥsu

Borrowed terms

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  • Telugu: శిరస్సు (śirassu), శిరసు (śirasu)

Descendants

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References

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  • Monier Williams (1899) “शिरस्”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, [], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 1072/2.
  • Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “śíras”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press
  • Mayrhofer, Manfred (1996) Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎[1] (in German), volume 2, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, pages 638-639