धातु

See also: धातू, धातृ, and धृत

Hindi

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit धातु m (dhātu), with the gender having changed in recent times.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Hindi) IPA^(key): /d̪ʱɑː.t̪uː/, [d̪ʱäː.t̪uː]

Noun

धातु • (dhātu) f or m (Urdu spelling دھات)

1. metal, metallic element

   (This entry needs quotations to illustrate usage. If you come across any interesting, durably archived quotes, then please add them!
   Particularly: “Especially showing the change in gender.”)

Declension

Declension of धातु (fem u-stem // masc u-stem)

	singular	plural
direct	धातु dhātu	धातुएँ, धातु dhātuẽ, dhātu
oblique	धातु dhātu	धातुओं dhātuõ
vocative	धातु dhātu	धातुओ dhātuo

References

• McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993), “धातु”, in The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, London: Oxford University Press
• “धातु”, in Collins Gem Hindi-English Dictionary, Collins, 2011, →ISBN
• Platts, John T. (1884), “धातु”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co.

Pali

Alternative forms

Alternative scripts

• dhātu (Latin script)
• 𑀥𑀸𑀢𑀼 (Brahmi script)
• ধাতু (Bengali script)
• ධාතු (Sinhalese script)
• ဓာတု or ꩪႃတု (Burmese script)
• ธาตุ (Thai script)
• ᨵᩤᨲᩩ (Tai Tham script)
• ຘາຕຸ (Lao script)
• ធាតុ (Khmer script)
• 𑄙𑄂𑄖𑄪 (Chakma script)

Etymology 1

Noun

धातु f

1. Devanagari script form of dhātu (“element”)

Declension

Declension table of "धातु" (feminine)

Case \ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	धातु (dhātu)	धातुयो (dhātuyo) or धातू (dhātū)
Accusative (second)	धातुं (dhātuṃ)	धातुयो (dhātuyo) or धातू (dhātū)
Instrumental (third)	धातुया (dhātuyā)	धातूहि (dhātūhi) or धातूभि (dhātūbhi)
Dative (fourth)	धातुया (dhātuyā)	धातूनं (dhātūnaṃ)
Ablative (fifth)	धातुया (dhātuyā)	धातूहि (dhātūhi) or धातूभि (dhātūbhi)
Genitive (sixth)	धातुया (dhātuyā)	धातूनं (dhātūnaṃ)
Locative (seventh)	धातुया (dhātuyā) or धातुयं (dhātuyaṃ)	धातूसु (dhātūsu)
Vocative (calling)	धातु (dhātu)	धातुयो (dhātuyo) or धातू (dhātū)

Etymology 2

Noun

धातु m

1. Devanagari script form of dhātu (“root of a word”)
   • c. 500 AD, Kaccāyana, Pālivyākaraṇaṃ [Pali Grammar]‎^[3] (overall work in Pali), page 283; republished as Satish Chandra Acharyya Vidyabhusana, editor, Kaccayana's Pali Grammar (edited in Devanagari character and translated into English), Calcutta, Bengal: Mahabodhi Society, 1901:

     दिस इच्चेतस्स धातुस्स पस्स दिस्स दक्ख इच्चेते आदेसा होन्ति वा।

     Disa iccetassa dhātussa passa dissa dakkha iccete ādesā honti vā.

     'Dis': this root may become 'pass', 'diss' or 'dakkh'.

Declension

Declension table of "धातु" (masculine)

Case \ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	धातु (dhātu)	धातवो (dhātavo) or धातू (dhātū)
Accusative (second)	धातुं (dhātuṃ)	धातवो (dhātavo) or धातू (dhātū)
Instrumental (third)	धातुना (dhātunā)	धातूहि (dhātūhi) or धातूभि (dhātūbhi)
Dative (fourth)	धातुस्स (dhātussa) or धातुनो (dhātuno)	धातूनं (dhātūnaṃ)
Ablative (fifth)	धातुस्मा (dhātusmā) or धातुम्हा (dhātumhā)	धातूहि (dhātūhi) or धातूभि (dhātūbhi)
Genitive (sixth)	धातुस्स (dhātussa) or धातुनो (dhātuno)	धातूनं (dhātūnaṃ)
Locative (seventh)	धातुस्मिं (dhātusmiṃ) or धातुम्हि (dhātumhi)	धातूसु (dhātūsu)
Vocative (calling)	धातु (dhātu)	धातवे (dhātave) or धातवो (dhātavo)

Sanskrit

Alternative scripts

Alternative scripts

• ধাতু (Assamese script)
• ᬥᬵᬢᬸ (Balinese script)
• ধাতু (Bengali script)
• 𑰠𑰯𑰝𑰲 (Bhaiksuki script)
• 𑀥𑀸𑀢𑀼 (Brahmi script)
• ဓာတု (Burmese script)
• ધાતુ (Gujarati script)
• ਧਾਤੁ (Gurmukhi script)
• 𑌧𑌾𑌤𑍁 (Grantha script)
• ꦣꦴꦠꦸ (Javanese script)
• 𑂡𑂰𑂞𑂳 (Kaithi script)
• ಧಾತು (Kannada script)
• ធាតុ (Khmer script)
• ຘາຕຸ (Lao script)
• ധാതു (Malayalam script)
• ᢡᠠ᠎᠊ᠠᢠᡠ (Manchu script)
• 𑘠𑘰𑘝𑘳 (Modi script)
• ᢑᠾᠠᢗᢐᠤ (Mongolian script)
• 𑧀𑧑𑦽𑧔 (Nandinagari script)
• 𑐢𑐵𑐟𑐸 (Newa script)
• ଧାତୁ (Odia script)
• ꢤꢵꢡꢸ (Saurashtra script)
• 𑆣𑆳𑆠𑆶 (Sharada script)
• 𑖠𑖯𑖝𑖲 (Siddham script)
• ධාතු (Sinhalese script)
• 𑩮𑩛𑩫𑩒 (Soyombo script)
• 𑚜𑚭𑚙𑚰 (Takri script)
• த⁴ாது (Tamil script)
• ధాతు (Telugu script)
• ธาตุ (Thai script)
• དྷཱ་ཏུ (Tibetan script)
• 𑒡𑒰𑒞𑒳 (Tirhuta script)
• 𑨜𑨊𑨙𑨃 (Zanabazar Square script)

Etymology

Maybe inherited from Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁-tu-, in that case cognate with Avestan 𐬬𐬍𐬜𐬁𐬙𐬎 (vīδātu, “justification, providence”), Lithuanian dė́tų (“putting, placing”, w:supine) (dated), Old Church Slavonic дѣтъ (dětŭ, “putting, placing”, supine). Can be deconstructed as धा (dhā, “to put, place”) +‎ -तु (-tu) (see दधाति (dádhāti)). The Sanskrit meaning may be explained as having developed from a resultative, ie “*the outcome of putting down”.

Pronunciation

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /dʱɑ́ː.tu/
• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /d̪ʱɑː.t̪u/

Noun

धातु॑ • (dhā́tu) stem, m

1. layer, stratum
2. constituent part, ingredient
3. element, primitive matter
4. a constituent element or essential ingredient of the body
5. primary element of the earth; i.e. metal, mineral, ore (especially a red mineral)
6. (grammar) verbal root
   • c. 400 BCE, Mahābhārata

Declension

Masculine u-stem declension of धातु॑

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	धातुः॑ (dhā́tuḥ)	धातू॑ (dhā́tū)	धात॑वः (dhā́tavaḥ)
accusative	धातु॑म् (dhā́tum)	धातू॑ (dhā́tū)	धातू॑न् (dhā́tūn)
instrumental	धातु॑ना (dhā́tunā) धात्वा॑¹ (dhā́tvā¹)	धातु॑भ्याम् (dhā́tubhyām)	धातु॑भिः (dhā́tubhiḥ)
dative	धात॑वे (dhā́tave) धात्वे॑¹ (dhā́tve¹)	धातु॑भ्याम् (dhā́tubhyām)	धातु॑भ्यः (dhā́tubhyaḥ)
ablative	धातोः॑ (dhā́toḥ) धात्वः॑¹ (dhā́tvaḥ¹)	धातु॑भ्याम् (dhā́tubhyām)	धातु॑भ्यः (dhā́tubhyaḥ)
genitive	धातोः॑ (dhā́toḥ) धात्वः॑¹ (dhā́tvaḥ¹)	धात्वोः॑ (dhā́tvoḥ)	धातू॑नाम् (dhā́tūnām)
locative	धातौ॑ (dhā́tau)	धात्वोः॑ (dhā́tvoḥ)	धातु॑षु (dhā́tuṣu)
vocative	धातो॑ (dhā́to)	धातू॑ (dhā́tū)	धात॑वः (dhā́tavaḥ)

• ¹Vedic

Derived terms

• आकाशधातु (ākāśadhā́tu)
• धात्वर्थ (dhātvártha, “having the sense of a root, a verb”)

Descendants

• Marathi: धातू (dhātū)
• Punjabi: dhāt
  • Gurmukhi script: ਧਾਤ
  • Shahmukhi script: دھات
• Pali: dhātu f
  • → Burmese: ဓာတ် (dhat)
    • → Shan: ထၢတ်ႈ (thāat)
  • → Khmer: ធាតុ (thiət)
  • → Thai: ธาตุ (tâat)
• → Punjabi: ਧਾਤੂ (dhātū)
• → Old Javanese: dhātu
  • → Balinese: ᬥᬵᬢᬸ (datu)
• → Pali: dhātu m (“root of a word”)
  • → Thai: ธาตุ (tâat)
• → Telugu: ధాతువు (dhātuvu)

Further reading

• Otto Böhtlingk; Richard Schmidt (1879-1928), “धातु”, in Walter Slaje, Jürgen Hanneder, Paul Molitor, Jörg Ritter, editors, Nachtragswörterbuch des Sanskrit [Dictionary of Sanskrit with supplements] (in German), Halle-Wittenberg: Martin-Luther-Universität, published 2016
• Monier Williams (1899), “धातु”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 513.