Aryan

: For the ancient Christian sect, followers of Arius, see Arianism.

Related Topics:
Christian - Arius - Arianism

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Aryan is an English word derived from the Indo-Aryan Vedic Sanskrit and Iranian Avestan terms ari-, arya-, ?rya-, and/or the extended form ary?na-. The Old Persian (Iranian) ariya- is a cognate as well. Beyond its use as the ethnic self-designation of the Proto-Indo-Iranians, there is no certainty as to what it may have originally meant. The meaning "noble" is frequently attached to it. Since the 19th century, the term was often used to refer to what we now call the Proto-Indo-Europeans, and, by extension, to Indo-European speaking peoples as a whole, beginning with Max Muller's Aryan Invasion Theory, which has more recently been analyzed with genetic evidence.

Related Topics:
Indo-Aryan - Vedic Sanskrit - Iranian - Avestan - Arya- - 19th century - Proto-Indo-Europeans - Indo-European speaking peoples - Aryan Invasion Theory

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Aryan currently refers only to the Indo-Iranian language sub-family, or occasionally, as a matter of short-hand usage, to its Indian sub-branch, more properly referred to as Indo-Aryan.

Related Topics:
Indo-Iranian - Indo-Aryan

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Aryan (Proto-Indo-Iranian) language evolved into the family of Indo-Iranian languages, of which the oldest known members are Avestan, Vedic, and another Indo-Aryan language known only from loanwords found in the Mitanni language, the latter which was itself a dialect of Hurrian.

Related Topics:
Indo-Iranian languages - Avestan - Vedic - Mitanni - Hurrian

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In addition to these usages it can also be used as an indication for the religious origin of the Hindus, Jains and Buddhists. To prevent confusion because of its several meanings, the term is often avoided today, and replaced by the well-defined Proto-Indo-European, Proto-Indo-Iranian, Indo-Iranian, Iranian or Indo-Aryan.

Related Topics:
Hindu - Jains - Buddhists

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~