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Help[Facts] Re: Indian name Sonakshi
in reply to a message by la-petite-rachel
The word sonA evolved from Sanskrit suvarNa, which in turn is a combination of the prefix su- meaning "good" and corresponds in sense to Greek eu-, and varNa. varNa is from the root vR, to cover, and originally meant cover, but its common use is as "outward appearance", in particular, color. So, suvarNa literally meant "of good color", and "gold" was a common meaning. In many North Indian languages, sonA is the common word for gold.
akSi, cognate with oculus, is a common word for eye in Sanskrit, and is said by classical grammarians as having been derived from ash, to gain, pervade, etc. It is rare word in the North Indian languages today, but it is a common name ending.
So, sonAkSI (the retroflex S is often pronounced palatal sh, though in Bengal kS would be pronounced kkh), with the long I at the end (that is often shortened in some languages like Bengali) means "golden eyed (female)", except it is not used as a word in any language that I know. Golden eyes have been associated with goddesses in the mahAbhArata, an epic of the Hindu religion, so it could also be a name of Durga (but, also of Sarasvati, for example).
akSi, cognate with oculus, is a common word for eye in Sanskrit, and is said by classical grammarians as having been derived from ash, to gain, pervade, etc. It is rare word in the North Indian languages today, but it is a common name ending.
So, sonAkSI (the retroflex S is often pronounced palatal sh, though in Bengal kS would be pronounced kkh), with the long I at the end (that is often shortened in some languages like Bengali) means "golden eyed (female)", except it is not used as a word in any language that I know. Golden eyes have been associated with goddesses in the mahAbhArata, an epic of the Hindu religion, so it could also be a name of Durga (but, also of Sarasvati, for example).
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