Abhi (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

अभि) is a preposition in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

, also found in

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

, Assamese and

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

. Today, it remains a productive element in forming names.

Origin

The first reference to the word "Abhi" is found in the ancient Hindu sacred text

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...

book 1, hymn 164. The word frequently appears in the

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

Upnishad The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...

and

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c ...

Meaning

"Abhi" is an adverb or preposition or

prefix A prefix is an affix which is placed before the Word stem, stem of a word. Adding it to the beginning of one word changes it into another word. For example, when the prefix ''un-'' is added to the word ''happy'', it creates the word ''unhappy'' ...

(see Upasarga) with various meanings depending on its context. According to Macdonnell's Sanskrit dictionary:Se
Macdonnell's dictionary
/ref> * As an adverb, it means "unto, near" * As a preposition plus

accusative The accusative case (abbreviated ) of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. In the English language, the only words that occur in the accusative case are pronouns: 'me,' 'him,' 'her,' 'us,' and ‘the ...

, it means "towards; to, against; over; for, for the sake of; with regard to" * As a preposition plus

ablative In grammar, the ablative case (pronounced ; sometimes abbreviated ) is a grammatical case for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in the grammars of various languages; it is sometimes used to express motion away from something, among other uses. T ...

, it means "without" * As a prefix (abhi-), it means "unto, near" It is believed that the word "Abhi" on its own in Sanskrit (for example, in ancient poetry) means the first ray of sunlight.

Usage

"Abhi" is also a common Indian name for boys and men. Although a name less common in girls, it is often used as a nickname, short for "Abhilasha." Confusion results from the fact that the name also has a current meaning in Hindi ("now"). The word 'Abhi' is used as a prefix in many Indian male and female names and words. Example of names: Abhinay, Abhigyan, Abhiram, Abhirami, Abhiras, Abhinesh,

Abhijith Abhijith (born 30 July 1963) is an Indian actor, singer, producer and director working in Kannada films. Starting his career as an actor in the late 1980s, he went on to act in many films through the 1990s and 2000s. He mainly played lead rol ...

, Abhilash, Abhimanyu, Abhishek,

Abhinav Abhinava ( Deva, अभिनव) is an Indian name. The Sanskrit word ' has the meaning "new". Notable people with the name include: * Abhinav Bali (born 1985), Indian cricketer * Abhinav Bindra (born 1982), Indian shooter and Olympic champion * ...

, Abhichandra, Abhinehsan Example of words: Abhidhamma, Abhikarta, Abhimana, Abhineta,

Abhisheka Abhisheka () means "bathing of the divinity to whom worship is offered." It is a religious rite or method of prayer in which a devotee pours a liquid offering on an image or murti of a God or Goddess. Abhisheka is common to Indian religions su ...

, Abhivandana, Abhiyan, Abhiyanta, Abhinash

Famous historical figures

Abhimanyu Abhimanyu is a legendary warrior from the ancient Hindu history ''Mahabharata''. He was born to the third Pandava prince Arjuna and the Yadu princess Subhadra, who was Krishna's younger sister. The ''Sambhava Parva'' of the Adi Parva sta ...

Famous modern-day figures

Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan (born 5 February 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work in Hindi films. Part of the Bachchan family, he is the son of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and the grandson of poet Harivansh Rai Bach ...

Abhinav Bindra Abhinav Apjit Bindra is an Indian Olympic gold medallist, retired sport shooter, and businessman.Abhijeet Bhattacharya (Singer) Abhijeet Bhattacharya (born 30 October 1958), better known as Abhijeet, is a Bollywood playback singer. Abhijeet has sung 6034 songs in over 1000 films. Personal life Abhijeet was born to a Kanpur-based Bengali businessman turned editor Dhir ...

Famous movies

Abhi (film) ''Abhi'' is a 2003 Indian Kannada language romantic comedy film written and directed by Dinesh Babu. It stars Puneeth Rajkumar and Ramya, making her debut,. Veteran Kannada actor Rajkumar sang a soundtrack for the film composed by Gurukiran. T ...

* Abhimaan *

Abhilasha (1983 film) ''Abhilasha'' () is a 1983 Indian Telugu-language thriller film directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy and produced by K. S. Rama Rao. The film stars Chiranjeevi and Raadhika while Rao Gopal Rao and Gollapudi Maruti Rao play vital roles and the musi ...

* Abhinetri

References

External links

Comprehensive commentary on the origin and meaning of the word "Abhi," with references, by Shikaripura Harihareswara
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abhi Sanskrit words and phrases Pali words and phrases Bengali words and phrases Assamese-language words and phrases Hindi words and phrases