वच्

See also: वाच् and वाचा

Sanskrit

Alternative forms

• उच् (uc)
• वोच् (voc) — from the aorist stem

Alternative scripts

Alternative scripts

• ৱচ্ (Assamese script)
• ᬯᬘ᭄ (Balinese script)
• বচ্ (Bengali script)
• 𑰪𑰓𑰿 (Bhaiksuki script)
• 𑀯𑀘𑁆 (Brahmi script)
• ဝစ် (Burmese script)
• વચ્ (Gujarati script)
• ਵਚ੍ (Gurmukhi script)
• 𑌵𑌚𑍍 (Grantha script)
• ꦮꦕ꧀ (Javanese script)
• 𑂫𑂒𑂹 (Kaithi script)
• ವಚ್ (Kannada script)
• វច៑ (Khmer script)
• ວຈ຺ (Lao script)
• വച് (Malayalam script)
• ᠸᠠᢜ (Manchu script)
• 𑘪𑘓𑘿 (Modi script)
• ᠸᠠᢋ (Mongolian script)
• 𑧊𑦳𑧠 (Nandinagari script)
• 𑐰𑐔𑑂 (Newa script)
• ଵଚ୍ (Odia script)
• ꢮꢗ꣄ (Saurashtra script)
• 𑆮𑆖𑇀 (Sharada script)
• 𑖪𑖓𑖿 (Siddham script)
• වච් (Sinhalese script)
• 𑩾𑩡 𑪙 (Soyombo script)
• 𑚦𑚏𑚶 (Takri script)
• வச் (Tamil script)
• వచ్ (Telugu script)
• วจฺ (Thai script)
• ཝ་ཙ྄ (Tibetan script)
• 𑒫𑒔𑓂 (Tirhuta script)
• 𑨭𑨣𑨴 (Zanabazar Square script)

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ- (“to speak”). Cognates include Middle Dutch gewāgen (“to speak”), Latin vōx (“voice”), Ancient Greek ὄψ (óps, “voice”) and Persian آواز (âvâz, “voice”).

Pronunciation

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /ʋɐt͡ɕ/
• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /ʋɐt͡ɕ/

Root

वच् • (vac)

1. to say, speak, utter
2. to proclaim, declare
3. to recite
4. to revile [with accusative]
   • c. 300 CE, Harivaṃśa
   • c. 500 BCE – 100 BCE, Rāmāyaṇa
   • (Can we date this quote?), The Buddha, Dhammapada(pāḷi) (subsequently translated from Pali to Sanskrit), Yamakavagga, page 26; republished in The Eighteenth Book in the Suttanta-Pitaka: Khuddaka-Nikāya‎^[1], Colombo, 2009:

     3 ආක්‍රොශන‍්මාමවොචන‍්මාම ජයන‍්මාමහාපයත්
     අත්‍ර යෙ උපනහ්‍යන‍්තෙ වෛරං තෙෂාං න ශාම්‍යති

     3 Ākrośanmāmavocanmāma jayanmāmahāpayat
     Atra ye upanahyante vairaṃ teṣāṃ na śāmyati.

     They abused me, they reviled me, they defeated me and plundered me.
     Hatred does not subside for those who nurse grudges thus.

     (Wiktionary translation adapted from translation of the Pali by Ajahn Sujato.)

Usage notes

This root supplies tenses for ब्रू (brū), which only has a present stem.

Derived terms

Sanskrit terms belonging to the root वच् (0 c, 15 e)

Terms derived from the Sanskrit root वच् (7 c, 0 e)

Primary Verbal Forms

• वक्ति (vakti, Present)
• विवक्ति (vívakti, Present)
• वक्ष्यति (vakṣyáti, Future)
• वक्ता (vaktā́, Periphrastic Future)
• अवोचत् (ávocat, Aorist)
• उच्यात् (ucyāt, Benedictive)
• उवाच (uvā́ca, Perfect)

Secondary Forms

• उच्यते (ucyáte, Passive)
• अवाचि (ávāci, Passive Aorist)
• वाचयति (vācayati, Causative)
• अवीवचत् (avīvacat, Causative Aorist)
• वाच्यते (vācyate, Passive of Causative)
• विवक्षति (vivakṣati, Desiderative)
• विवक्ष्यते (vivakṣyate, Passive of Desiderative)
• वावचीति (vāvacīti, Intensive)

Non-Finite Forms

• उक्त (uktá, Past Participle)
• वक्तुम् (váktum, Infinitive)
• वक्तवे (váktave, Infinitive)
• वक्तोस् (váktos, Infinitive)
• उक्त्वा (uktvā, Gerund)
• वाच्य (vā́cya, Gerundive)
• वक्तव्य (vaktavyà, Gerundive)
• वचनीय (vacanīya, Gerundive)
• वक्त्व (váktva, Gerundive)
• वाचयितव्य (vācayitavya, Causative Gerundive)
• विवक्षु (vivakṣu, Desiderative Participle)

Derived Nominal Forms

• उक्ति (ukti)
• उक्थ (ukthá)
• उचथ (ucátha)
• वक्तृ (vaktṛ́)
• वक्त्र (vaktra)
• वक्मन् (vákman)
• वचन (vácana)
• वचस् (vácas)
• वग्नु (vagnú, “call, cry, noise, roar”)
• वाक (vāká)
• वाक्य (vākya)
• वाच् (vā́c, “speech”)
• वाचक (vācaka)
• वाचन (vācana)
• वाचयितृ (vācayitṛ)
• वाचिन् (vācin)
• विवक्षा (vivakṣā)

Prefixed Root Forms

• अतिवच् (ativac)
• अधिवच् (adhivac)
• अनुवच् (anuvac)
• अभिवच् (abhivac)
• आवच् (āvac)
• उपवच् (upavac)
• निर्वच् (nirvac)
• परावच् (parāvac)
• प्रतिवच् (prativac)
• प्रवच् (pravac)
• विवच् (vivac)
• संवच् (saṃvac)

References

• Monier Williams (1899) “वच्”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 912, column 1.
• William Dwight Whitney, 1885, The Roots, Verb-forms, and Primary Derivatives of the Sanskrit Language, Leipzig: Breitkopf and Härtel, page 151
• Hellwig, Oliver (2010-2024) “vac”, in DCS - The Digital Corpus of Sanskrit, Berlin, Germany.
• Mayrhofer, Manfred (1996) Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎^[2] (in German), volume 2, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, pages 489-491