Bahuvrihi
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A type of nominal compound in which the first part modifies the second but neither part alone conveys the intended meaning. also, attributive
"Considerable discrepancies prevail with regard to the word मूचिीः which the Calcutta edition and all the authorities except the Bombay copy and No. VI. read without the visarga. It has subsequently been inserted in Mr. [Charles] Wilkins' ms., and is clearly required by the sense, as तोजोमूचिीः is a bahuvrihi or compound epithet."
- 2 Alternative letter-case form of bahuvrihi. alt-of
Example
More examples"Considerable discrepancies prevail with regard to the word मूचिीः which the Calcutta edition and all the authorities except the Bombay copy and No. VI. read without the visarga. It has subsequently been inserted in Mr. [Charles] Wilkins' ms., and is clearly required by the sense, as तोजोमूचिीः is a bahuvrihi or compound epithet."
Etymology
Transliteration of Sanskrit बहुव्रीहि (bahuvrīhi, “rich, wealthy”, literally “(possessing) much rice”), itself an example of a bahuvrihi.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.