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Help[Facts] Re: Mirabai?
in reply to a message by Cleveland Kent Evans
The -bAi bit is easy: in the languages of western India (Hindi/Marathi etc.), it is a feminine honorific. As a relation term it means mother in some languages. It also has the derived meanings of a lady of art, a dancer, or prostitute in some languages.
The Meera (as it is sometimes spelt: both vowels are long) bit is more complicated. I do not understand where the meaning `prosperous' given on this site comes from: I am not familiar with this meaning in Sanskrit. The closest to mIrA I can find in Sanskrit is mirA, a limit, or mIra, an ocean, and I think both of these are unrelated. I suspect the name may actually have connection with Farsi mIr meaning main. (My Sanskrit dictionary claims mIramIrA is a woman's name, but it does not provide that with a derivation of a meaning.)
The Meera (as it is sometimes spelt: both vowels are long) bit is more complicated. I do not understand where the meaning `prosperous' given on this site comes from: I am not familiar with this meaning in Sanskrit. The closest to mIrA I can find in Sanskrit is mirA, a limit, or mIra, an ocean, and I think both of these are unrelated. I suspect the name may actually have connection with Farsi mIr meaning main. (My Sanskrit dictionary claims mIramIrA is a woman's name, but it does not provide that with a derivation of a meaning.)
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I think the bay can be used for both males and females, I know an Indian guy and some people put the -bay after his surname, meaning "brother", didnt know you can use the same term for ladies... interesting from the linuistig point of view.
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Actually, it is probably not the same term: can't be more specific without knowing which Indian language you are talking about (With more than 14 languages and over a couple of hundred mutually unintelligible dialects, it is a bit difficult: thus in some languages bAi means elder sister, not mother).
The problem is that many of these languages have two phonemes a b- and a bh- which differ in aspiration (i.e. not b- followed by -h- but b- with breathing out). Voiced aspirated consonants are missing in most Latin and Germanic languages I know, so they both become b- in English.
With that intro, the Sanskrit bhrAtR (cognate with brother, of course) gave rise to bhAi in many modern languages. I think this is the word you are talking about.
The problem is that many of these languages have two phonemes a b- and a bh- which differ in aspiration (i.e. not b- followed by -h- but b- with breathing out). Voiced aspirated consonants are missing in most Latin and Germanic languages I know, so they both become b- in English.
With that intro, the Sanskrit bhrAtR (cognate with brother, of course) gave rise to bhAi in many modern languages. I think this is the word you are talking about.
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