वरिष्ठ

Hindi

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Sanskrit वरिष्ठ (váriṣṭha).

Pronunciation

• (Delhi Hindi) IPA^(key): /ʋə.ɾɪʂʈʰ/, [ʋɐ.ɾɪʂʈʰ]

Adjective

वरिष्ठ • (variṣṭh) (indeclinable)

1. senior, higher-ranked

   Antonym: कनिष्ठ (kaniṣṭh)

   वरिष्ठ अधिकारी ― variṣṭh adhikārī ― senior officer

Sanskrit

Etymology 1

Superlative form of the adjective वर (vára, “precious, desirable”), from Proto-Indo-Aryan *Hwárištʰas, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hwáriṣṭʰas, from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose”).

Pronunciation

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /ʋɐ́.ɾiʂ.ʈʰɐ/
• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ʋɐˈɾiʂ.ʈʰɐ/

Adjective

वरिष्ठ • (váriṣṭha) stem

1. dearest
2. choicest
3. best

Derived terms

• वरिष्ठक (váriṣṭhaka, “most excellent, best”)

Etymology 2

Superlative form of the adjective उरु (urú, “broad, wide”), from Proto-Indo-Aryan *Hwárištʰas, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hwáriṣṭʰas, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁wer- (“broad”). Related to वरुण (váruṇa, “Varuna”).

Adjective

वरिष्ठ • (váriṣṭha) stem

1. widest
2. most encompassing
3. having the widest circumference

See also

• वरीयस् (várīyas, “better, wider”)

References

• Monier Williams (1899) “वरिष्ठ”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 921,922,923.