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kalpa

In Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, an immense period of time, roughly 4.3 billion years.

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Where does the word "kalpa" come from? It comes from Sanskrit kalpa, and was adopted directly into English (1794).

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Where does the word "kalpa" come from? It comes from Sanskrit kalpa, and was adopted directly into English (1794).

Kalpa’s story begins in Sanskrit: kalpa meant “an eon, a vast period of time.” From a root meaning 'to form, arrange, set in order'. It reached English by 1794 as kalpa. Adopted in English writing on Hindu and Buddhist cosmology. Today, kalpa means in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, an immense period of time, roughly 4.3 billion years.

  1. Stage 1 · Sanskrit · ancient kalpa "an eon, a vast period of time", from a root meaning 'to form, arrange, set in order'.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1794 kalpa "an immense cosmological time period, equal to a day of the god Brahma", adopted in English writing on Hindu and Buddhist cosmology.

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