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nirvana

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Etymology and origin of the French word nirvana

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1826 A. Balbi, Introduction à l'atlas ethnographique du globe More words from the 19th century
Borrowed from
Sanskrit निर्वाण
Ultimate origin
Sanskrit निर्वाण

Pronunciation

  • /niʁ.va.na/[1]

Forms

nirvana m (plural nirvanas)[1] Also spelled nirvâna, the TLFi's second headword form; first recorded as nirwana (1826).[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Sanskrit निर्वाण (nirvāṇa, “extinction”), specialized in Buddhism for a state beyond the fate of becoming, in which all thought, will and sensation are abolished.[2][3][4][5] The Sanskrit word is the neuter of the verbal adjective of निर्वा (nirvā, “to blow, to stop blowing, to go out”), from वा (vā, “to blow”).[2][3] Rey relates this root to the words for wind across the Indo-European languages, among them vent.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A. Balbi's Introduction à l'atlas ethnographique du globe (1826) uses nirwana as a term of Buddhism.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Its use was extended from religion to philosophy through Schopenhauer, who used it in German for the deliverance of mind and feeling reached by renouncing the will to live.[2][3] Freudian theory took it up for the tendency of the psychic apparatus to remove all tension, the principe de nirvana.[3][6] In everyday French it also means a state of complete serenity or bliss.[7][5] The derivatives nirvanisme (1890), nirvanien (1907) and nirvanique (1912) followed.[3][2] English nirvana is recorded from 1836.[8]

Timeline

  • 1826 – Nirwana appears in Balbi.[2][3]
  • 1836 – English nirvana is first recorded.[8]
  • 1844 – Bloch and Wartburg's date for nirvana.[4][9]
  • 1890 – Nirvanisme is recorded.[3]
  • 1907 – Rolland uses nirvânien.[2]
  • 1912 – Nirvanique appears.[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Buddhism, Hinduism) The extinction of desire and of karma, ending the cycle of births and deaths; a state of perfect beatitude.[9][7][2]
  2. (philosophy) After Schopenhauer, deliverance obtained by renouncing the will to live.[2][3]
  3. (psychoanalysis) Principe de nirvana: the tendency of the psyche to reduce all tension, a synonym of principe de constance.[6][3]
  4. A state of complete serenity: après la randonnée, elle était au nirvana.[7][5]

Usage notes

The TLFi gives the word under both spellings, nirvana and nirvâna, and its derivatives likewise (nirvanique, nirvânique).[2]

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 Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org
  6. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  7. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Nirvana.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/nirvana. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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