English
guru
Guru comes from Hindi गुरु ‘guru, teacher’, from Sanskrit गुरु ‘heavy; weighty; important’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷreh₂- ‘heavy’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷreh₂-‘heavy’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷréh₂us‘heavy’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*gr̥Húš‘heavy’reconstructed
- Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEगुरुguru‘heavy; weighty; important’
- Hindic. 1500–presentsame formguru‘guru, teacher’
- Englishearliest quotation 1817guru
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷreh₂-‘heavy’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷréh₂us‘heavy’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*gr̥Húš‘heavy’reconstructed
- Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEगुरुguru‘heavy; weighty; important’
- Hindic. 1500–presentsame formguru‘guru, teacher’
- Englishearliest quotation 1817guru
Earliest quotation: 1817, William Ward, History: “When the gooroo arrives at the house of a…”
The story
Borrowed from Hindi गुरु (guru) / Punjabi ਗੁਰੂ (gurū), from Sanskrit गुरु (guru, “venerable, respectable”), originally "heavy" and in this sense cognate to English grieve and, more distantly, brute. A traditional, though flawed etymology based on the Advayataraka Upanishad (line 16) describes the syllables gu as “darkness” and ru as “destroyer”, thus ascribing the meaning of “one who destroys/dispels darkness” to the word.
Linked words
pairs
- guru and gravity both from Proto-Indo-European *gʷréh₂us ‘heavy’
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷreh₂- ‘heavy’
bar, grave, grief, brutal, grieve, brigadier, grievous, grievance, brute, gravitate, aggravate, aggravation, gravitation, gravitas, brio, barite, brigand, brut, baryon, 17 more
Today it means
noun In Indian traditions: a spiritual teacher who transmits knowledge to a shishya.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʷreh₂- / guru