Words In and Out of History: Indian Semantic Derivation (Nirvacana) and Modern Etymology in Dialogue

This essay explores two systematic linguistic inquiries comparatively, Yāska's Nirukta (ca. third century b.c.e.), the foundational text of the Indian discipline of semantic derivation (nirvacana), and modern historical etymology. It argues that a comparative exploration yields a finer interpretation of the central tenets of Indian semantic derivation, and enhances our interpretive stance's clarity and self-reflexivity. The essay considers Indian semantic derivation as a dialogic partner, whose insights into language and meaning can be brought to bear, in their otherness and in a theoretically enriching way, on how we think about such topics.