𐨀𐨬𐨣
Niya Prakrit
Etymology
Exact etymology unknown. 2 possibilities:
- Borrowed from Iranian; compare Old Persian [script needed] (a-v-h-n-m /āvahanam/, “village”), Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (ʾwbʾhnl /āwahan/, “fortified place, stronghold”), Old Armenian աւան (awan) (whence Armenian ավան (avan)).
- Inherited from Sanskrit आपण (āpaṇa), with semantic extension from “market” > “market town” > “[any] town, village”.
Noun
𐨀𐨬𐨣 (avana)
- village; parish
References
- Stefan Baums; Andrew Glass (2016), “avana”, in A Dictionary of Gandhari
- Thomas Burrow (1937) The Language of the Kharosthi Documents from Chinese Turkestan, London: Cambridge University Press, page 77
- Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985), “āpaṇá”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, page 54