amrita

Where does the word "amrita" come from? It comes from Sanskrit amrita, and was adopted directly into English (19th-20th c.).

Amrita’s story begins in Sanskrit: amrita meant “the nectar of immortality.” Compound of 'not' and 'dead', meaning 'immortal, deathless'. It reached English by 19th-20th c. as amrita. First recorded in 1784 in the writing of Sir William Jones, the Calcutta judge who founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Today, amrita means in Hindu mythology, the nectar of immortality; by extension, anything considered spiritually life-giving.

1. Stage 1 · Sanskrit · ancient amrita "the nectar of immortality", compound of 'not' and 'dead', meaning 'immortal, deathless'.
2. Stage 2 · English · 19th-20th c. amrita "a mythical nectar of immortality churned from the cosmic ocean", first recorded in 1784 in the writing of Sir William Jones, the Calcutta judge who founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal.