Guru — Lexography

Journey of meaning

4 forms

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The guru journey, in text

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गुरु · Sanskrit
noun · Sanskrit
Transliteration: guru
Heavy; venerable or worthy of honor; a teacher or spiritual preceptor.. Heavy; venerable or worthy of honor; a teacher or spiritual preceptor.
Date not yet researched — No word-specific date established in the inspected sources.
Sanskrit reference region — Glottolog language reference point; not an origin, borrowing site or territorial boundary.
Sanskrit गुरु (guru) includes “heavy” and “venerable” senses and is the source of the South Asian teacher word. Etymology and Pronunciation
English guru is borrowed from Hindi guru and related Punjabi usage, ultimately from Sanskrit guru. English > Etymology
Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for Sanskrit. LanguageTable row sans1269
गुरु · Hindi
noun · Hindi
Transliteration: guru
Religious teacher or spiritual guide.. Religious teacher or spiritual guide.
Date not yet researched — No word-specific date established in the inspected sources.
Hindi reference region — Glottolog language reference point; not an origin, borrowing site or territorial boundary.
Sanskrit गुरु (guru) includes “heavy” and “venerable” senses and is the source of the South Asian teacher word. Etymology and Pronunciation
English guru is borrowed from Hindi guru and related Punjabi usage, ultimately from Sanskrit guru. English > Etymology
English guru is attested in the form gooroo from 1806 for a Hindu spiritual teacher or guide. guru(n.)
The English entry supplies modern regional readings and the teacher sense. English > Pronunciation
Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for Hindi. LanguageTable row hind1269
guru · English
noun · English
Reading: GOO-roo
A Hindu or Sikh spiritual teacher or guide.. A Hindu or Sikh spiritual teacher or guide.
1806 · English spiritual-teacher sense — Reported English context; not an origin date.
English reference region / Britain — Glottolog language reference point; not an origin, borrowing site or territorial boundary.
English guru is borrowed from Hindi guru and related Punjabi usage, ultimately from Sanskrit guru. English > Etymology
English guru is attested in the form gooroo from 1806 for a Hindu spiritual teacher or guide. guru(n.)
The English entry supplies modern regional readings and the teacher sense. English > Pronunciation
English guru has a broadened modern sense for an expert or authority outside the religious context. English > Noun
The English entry supplies modern readings. English > Pronunciation
Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for English. LanguageTable row stan1293
guru · English
noun · English
Reading: GOO-roo
A recognized authority or influential expert in a field.. A recognized authority or influential expert in a field.
Date not yet researched — No stable word-specific first-use date for the generalized expert sense was retained.
English reference region / Britain — Glottolog language reference point; not an origin, borrowing site or territorial boundary.
English guru has a broadened modern sense for an expert or authority outside the religious context. English > Noun
The English entry supplies modern readings. English > Pronunciation
Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for English. LanguageTable row stan1293

Relationships

guru → guru: inheritance, documented. Hindi guru continues the Sanskrit teacher/venerable word. Etymology and Pronunciation English > Etymology

guru → guru: borrowing, documented. English borrowed guru from Hindi/Punjabi usage. English > Etymology guru(n.)English > Pronunciation

guru → guru: semantic-change, documented. The spiritual-teacher title broadens to a recognized expert or authority. English > Noun English > Pronunciation

Inspect the evidence 10 claims

Open a claim to follow the source and our interpretation.

01Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for Sanskrit.
Source
Glottolog 5.3 — language reference coordinatesHammarström, Forkel, Haspelmath & Bank; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLanguageTable row sans1269
Source passage
Reference record
sans1269 · Sanskrit · Latitude 20.0 · Longitude 77.0
LanguageTable row sans1269; Name, Latitude, Longitude
Qualification Reference only
Language reference coordinates, not a word origin, borrowing site, historical territory or population distribution.
What Lexography infers
Use this point only to orient Sanskrit reference region; no historical movement is inferred.
Checked 2026-09-11 · revision 072ca0d0410039fb8b779be8fc165bac575d2cda. CC BY 4.0; selected coordinates, rounded for regional orientation
02Sanskrit गुरु (guru) includes “heavy” and “venerable” senses and is the source of the South Asian teacher word.
Source
Wiktionary — गुरुWiktionary contributorsEtymology and Pronunciation
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
Sanskrit गुरु (guru) includes “heavy” and “venerable” senses and is the source of the South Asian teacher word.
Etymology and Pronunciation
Qualification Source-supported
The traditional gu/ru darkness explanation is not used as etymology.
What Lexography infers
Preserve the lexical heavy/venerable connection and reject the folk explanation.
Checked 2026-09-14. Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0 / GFDL; current page inspected, attributed summaries only; no full article redistributed.
03Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for Hindi.
Source
Glottolog 5.3 — language reference coordinatesHammarström, Forkel, Haspelmath & Bank; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLanguageTable row hind1269
Source passage
Reference record
hind1269 · Hindi · Latitude 25.0 · Longitude 77.0
LanguageTable row hind1269; Name, Latitude, Longitude
Qualification Reference only
Language reference coordinates, not a word origin, borrowing site, historical territory or population distribution.
What Lexography infers
Use this point only to orient Hindi reference region; no historical movement is inferred.
Checked 2026-09-11 · revision 072ca0d0410039fb8b779be8fc165bac575d2cda. CC BY 4.0; selected coordinates, rounded for regional orientation
04English guru is borrowed from Hindi guru and related Punjabi usage, ultimately from Sanskrit guru.
Source
Wiktionary — guruWiktionary contributorsEnglish > Etymology
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
English guru is borrowed from Hindi guru and related Punjabi usage, ultimately from Sanskrit guru.
English > Etymology
Qualification Source-supported
The cited section supports this bounded lexical statement; it does not establish every use, date or transmission event.
What Lexography infers
Lexography selects this account for the named form or sense; wording and presentation are editorial.
Checked 2026-09-14. Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0 / GFDL; current page inspected, attributed summaries only; no full article redistributed.
05Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for English.
Source
Glottolog 5.3 — language reference coordinatesHammarström, Forkel, Haspelmath & Bank; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLanguageTable row stan1293
Source passage
Reference record
stan1293 · English · Latitude 53.0 · Longitude -1.0
LanguageTable row stan1293; Name, Latitude, Longitude
Qualification Reference only
Language reference coordinates, not a word origin, borrowing site, historical territory or population distribution.
What Lexography infers
Use this point only to orient English reference region / Britain; no historical movement is inferred.
Checked 2026-09-11 · revision 072ca0d0410039fb8b779be8fc165bac575d2cda. CC BY 4.0; selected coordinates, rounded for regional orientation
06English guru is attested in the form gooroo from 1806 for a Hindu spiritual teacher or guide.
Source
guru — EtymologyOnline Etymology Dictionaryguru(n.)
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
English guru is attested in the form gooroo from 1806 for a Hindu spiritual teacher or guide.
guru(n.)
Qualification Qualified
The 1806 date is an English lexical context and does not date Sanskrit or Hindi usage.
What Lexography infers
Use the teacher sense as the first English stage.
Checked 2026-09-14. Linked source retains its copyright. Brief original factual paraphrases only; no full article redistributed.
07The English entry supplies modern regional readings and the teacher sense.
Source
Wiktionary — guruWiktionary contributorsEnglish > Pronunciation
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
The English entry supplies modern regional readings and the teacher sense.
English > Pronunciation
Qualification Source-supported
The cited section supports this bounded lexical statement; it does not establish every use, date or transmission event.
What Lexography infers
Lexography selects this account for the named form or sense; wording and presentation are editorial.
Checked 2026-09-14. Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0 / GFDL; current page inspected, attributed summaries only; no full article redistributed.
08Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for English.
Source
Glottolog 5.3 — language reference coordinatesHammarström, Forkel, Haspelmath & Bank; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLanguageTable row stan1293
Source passage
Reference record
stan1293 · English · Latitude 53.0 · Longitude -1.0
LanguageTable row stan1293; Name, Latitude, Longitude
Qualification Reference only
Language reference coordinates, not a word origin, borrowing site, historical territory or population distribution.
What Lexography infers
Use this point only to orient English reference region / Britain; no historical movement is inferred.
Checked 2026-09-11 · revision 072ca0d0410039fb8b779be8fc165bac575d2cda. CC BY 4.0; selected coordinates, rounded for regional orientation
09English guru has a broadened modern sense for an expert or authority outside the religious context.
Source
Wiktionary — guruWiktionary contributorsEnglish > Noun
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
English guru has a broadened modern sense for an expert or authority outside the religious context.
English > Noun
Qualification Qualified
The inspected entry supports the modern sense but does not supply a single first-use date for every specialist field.
What Lexography infers
Represent the expert sense as an English semantic broadening.
Checked 2026-09-14. Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0 / GFDL; current page inspected, attributed summaries only; no full article redistributed.
10The English entry supplies modern readings.
Source
Wiktionary — guruWiktionary contributorsEnglish > Pronunciation
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
The English entry supplies modern readings.
English > Pronunciation
Qualification Source-supported
The cited section supports this bounded lexical statement; it does not establish every use, date or transmission event.
What Lexography infers
Lexography selects this account for the named form or sense; wording and presentation are editorial.
Checked 2026-09-14. Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0 / GFDL; current page inspected, attributed summaries only; no full article redistributed.