English
Raj
Raj comes from Sanskrit राज्य ‘empire, kingdom, realm’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- ‘to right or straighten oneself’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃reǵ-‘to right or straighten oneself’reconstructed
- Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEराज्यrājyá‘empire, kingdom, realm’
- Englishearliest quotation 1965Raj
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃reǵ-‘to right or straighten oneself’reconstructed
- Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEराज्यrājyá‘empire, kingdom, realm’
- Englishearliest quotation 1965Raj
Earliest quotation: 1965, New Race: “After Gandhiji's Ram Raj, which lived and went with…”
The story
Proprialisation of raj (“(India) reign, rule”, noun), borrowed from Hindustani
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- ‘to right or straighten oneself’
right, real, director, source, region, regular, rule, direction, address, direct, rich, royal, correct, dress, regime, roy, arrangement, rank, ana, rex, rogue, regulate, radar, resurrection, arrange, interrogation, erect, regent, rack, rector, regal, regency, insurrection, rectify, anorexia, rectum, rake, rhesus, rectification, incorrigible, 107 more
Today it means
name The whole period of British influence or rule in the Indian subcontinent from the 1600s to 1947.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.