| Definitions | | Devanagari |
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proper noun
- A script used to write several Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Bihari, Bhili, Konkani, and Bhojpuri. It is also used to write Nepali in Nepal. It is an abugida writing system (not properly called an alphabet) because the base consonant characters include a default schwa vowel sound unless it is modified or removed.
adjective
- Of the Devanagari script or of a Devanagari alphabet.
Etymology: From the Sanskrit name àààààààà (DevanÄgarÄ, Devanagari), which derives from Sanskrit deva "divine, excellent", and nÄgarÄ "urban", a female vrddhi adjective derived from nagara "city"; they form a tatpurusha compound, meaning the "divine urban" script. The Nagari script is an earlier form of Devanagari, appearing in ca. the 8th century as an eastern variant of the Gupta script, contemporary to Sharada, its western variant. The name Devanagari should therefore be understood as "excellent or perfected form of the Nagari script".
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