Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/869

 Vi. ] BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATURE. 327 word gt has two meanings in Sankrit ; it means colour and attachment. In Bengali it has come to signify fits of anger, probably owing to one’s face and eyes being reddened under passion. But at the time of Chaitanya, 400 years ago, the Ben- gali word had not yet lost its original meaning. In the Kadena by Govinda Das we find it used in the sense of love or attachment, as inthe line “q{tw7 Gazq প্রভূ করে সন্তরণ-' There is no difference in Sanskrit between the words af 9৪1) অনুরাগ. In Bengali, the one implies anger, and the other love, though the words 4f45 and agafa@s—participal adjective-forms of the two words respectively—have retained their Sanskritic significance. The Bengali word derived from Sanskrit 341 (lit. one who maintains), a_hus- band, has been degraded in Bengali and is not used in decent society, though I can not make out the reason why. The word ভাগারী (lit. a store-keeper ) does not possess its original elevated sense ; it now generally means with us a menial servant. The word S{¥q in colloquial Bengali means the hus- band’s elder brother; but in Sanskrit it means shining, splendid. The Hindu women of Bengal consider it sacrilegious to name the elder brothers of their husbands. When he is to be mentioned, they refer to him by some qualifying adjective. The word ‘S{Q¥, originally ‘shining,’ must have been thus reduced to its present restricted meaning. The words যুক্ত and 4qlq (endowed with Cri— fortune) in Sanskrit have the same meaning,’ but in Bengali শ্রীযুক্ত is’ used in regard to elders or equals, and ¥fq invariably to junior relations. The word ¢4¥ in Sanskrit means ‘ fierce.’ though there is a rare use of it in that tongue implying sun-