yuga

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

Yuga’s story begins in Sanskrit: yuga meant “an age or era; literally 'yoke'.” Literally 'yoke', extended to mean 'a generation' or 'a cosmic age'. It reached English by 19th-20th c. as yuga. Adopted in English writing on Hindu cosmology. Today, yuga means in Hindu cosmology, one of four vast cyclical ages that make up a cosmic cycle.

1. Stage 1 · Sanskrit · ancient yuga "an age or era; literally 'yoke'", literally 'yoke', extended to mean 'a generation' or 'a cosmic age'.
2. Stage 2 · English · 19th-20th c. yuga "one of the four cosmic ages in Hindu cosmology", adopted in English writing on Hindu cosmology.