dharma

Etymology

It is borrowed from Sanskrit धर्म (dharma, “law, decree, custom; quality, inherent characteristic”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} an alteration of धर्मन् (dharman, “law, rule, custom”),^[2] from धृ (dhṛ, “to hold, to fix”) and a suffix forming abstract nouns, as in karma.^[2][7] Merriam-Webster glosses it literally as "that which is established" and relates it to a Sanskrit verb meaning "he holds".^[4][8] The root is from Proto-Indo-European *dher- (“to hold firmly, support”),^[3][9] the same base as Old Persian dar- (“to hold”) and perhaps Latin firmus (“strong, stable”), the source of firm.^[2][3][4] Its Buddhist senses were influenced by the Pali form of the word, dhamma, also used in English as dhamma.^[8][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The eternal law of the cosmos, inherent in the nature of things: 1785, in Charles Wilkins's translation of an inscription on a pillar.^[2] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date the word to 1796, Etymonline in the secular sense "caste custom, right behaviour".^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

In Sanskrit the word meant statute, law, right and justice, literally "that which is established firmly".^[3][5] English took it over in the religious and philosophical senses of the Indian traditions: the law of the cosmos (1785), and in Buddhism universal truth as proclaimed by the Buddha, or Buddhist teaching (1829).^[2] Also from 1829 it was used for a particular aspect of truth or reality, or a spiritual path to follow.^[2] In Hinduism it covers social and caste custom regarded as a duty, right behaviour, and the essential nature or function of a thing;^[4][5] Merriam-Webster's example is that it is the dharma of a stone to be hard and of fire to burn.^[4][5] The OED notes that in the modern languages of India dharma often translates English religion, which has in turn influenced English use.^[2]

Timeline

• 1785 – the eternal law of the cosmos, in Indian traditions.^[2]
• 1796 – caste custom, right behaviour.^[3][4]
• 1829 – in Buddhism, universal truth or law, Buddhist teaching.^[2]
• 1829 – a distinctive aspect of truth; a spiritual path to be followed.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. In Hinduism, the religious and moral duties of a person or community, including the customs of a caste.^[7][4][5]
2. In Hinduism, the essential principle of the cosmos; natural law, and conduct that agrees with it.^[7][4][2]
3. The essential nature or function of a thing.^[4][5]
4. In Buddhism, universal truth as taught by the Buddha, or Buddhist teaching.^[7][2][5]

Word family

• dharmic

Related words

• dhamma
• karma
• firm

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt