# परशु
## Sanskrit
### Alternative scripts

* পৰশু (Assamese script)
* ᬧᬭᬰᬸ (Balinese script)
* পরশু (Bengali script)
* 𑰢𑰨𑰫𑰲 (Bhaiksuki script)
* 𑀧𑀭𑀰𑀼 (Brahmi script)
* ပရၐု (Burmese script)
* પરશુ (Gujarati script)
* ਪਰਸ਼ੁ (Gurmukhi script)
* 𑌪𑌰𑌶𑍁 (Grantha script)
* ꦥꦫꦯꦸ (Javanese script)
* 𑂣𑂩𑂬𑂳 (Kaithi script)
* ಪರಶು (Kannada script)
* បរឝុ (Khmer script)
* ປຣຨຸ (Lao script)
* പരശു (Malayalam script)
* ᢒᠠᡵᠠᡧᡠ (Manchu script)
* 𑘢𑘨𑘫𑘳 (Modi script)
* ᢒᠠᠷᠠᠱᠤ (Mongolian script)
* 𑧂𑧈𑧋𑧔 (Nandinagari script)
* 𑐥𑐬𑐱𑐸 (Newa script)
* ପରଶୁ (Odia script)
* ꢦꢬꢯꢸ (Saurashtra script)
* 𑆥𑆫𑆯𑆶 (Sharada script)
* 𑖢𑖨𑖫𑖲 (Siddham script)
* පරශු (Sinhalese script)
* 𑩰𑩼𑩿𑩒 (Soyombo script)
* 𑚞𑚤𑚧𑚰 (Takri script)
* பரஶு (Tamil script)
* పరశు (Telugu script)
* ปรศุ (Thai script)
* པ་ར་ཤུ (Tibetan script)
* 𑒣𑒩𑒬𑒳 (Tirhuta script)
* 𑨞𑨫𑨮𑨃 (Zanabazar Square script)

### Etymology

Cognate with Ossetian фӕрӕт (færæt, “axe”) and Ancient Greek πέλεκυς (pélekus, “axe”), and hence apparently reconstructible back to Proto-Indo-European as *peleḱús (“axe”), though not derivable from PIE morphology or known roots. The word is often considered a Wanderwort, and the similarity of Akkadian 𒁄 (pilaqqu, “wooden handle; spindle, harp”) (from Sumerian 𒁄 (balag, “wooden handle; spindle, harp; possibly a split piece of wood or wooden wedge”)) has led some to suggest that the Proto-Indo-European word is a borrowing of the Akkadian word. Alternatively from another Semitic word, from the root *palaq- (compare Arabic فَلَقَ (falaqa, “to split apart”)). (Can this etymology be sourced?)

### Pronunciation

* (Vedic) IPA: /pɐ.ɾɐ.ɕú/
* (Classical Sanskrit) IPA: /pɐ.ɾɐ.ɕu/

### Noun

परशु • (paraśú) stem, m
* a hatchet, an axe

#### Declension

* ¹Vedic

#### Derived terms

* परशुराम (paraśurāma)

#### Descendants

* Pali: parasu, pharasu
* Prakrit: 𑀧𑀭𑀲𑀼 (parasu)
** Central:
*** Hindustani: parsā, parsiyā
**** Hindi: परसा, परसिया
**** Urdu: پَرسا, پَرسِیَ
** Northwestern:
*** Punjabi: pharsā
    Shahmukhi script: پھَرسا
    Gurmukhi script: ਫਰਸਾ
** Southern:
*** Dhivehi: ފުރޯ (furō)
*** Marathi: फरस (pharas), फरशी (pharśī)
*** Sinhalese: පොරොව (porowa)
* Prakrit: 𑀨𑀭𑀲𑀼 (pharasu)
** Northern:
*** Kumaoni: फर्स (phars)
*** Nepali: फर्सा (pharsā)
** Western:
*** Gujarati: ફરશી (pharśī)
Borrowed terms
* → Tamil: பரசு (paracu)

### References

* 1 2 3 4 J. P. Mallory, D. Q. Adams, The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European (2006, →ISBN): "We find cognates in Grk pélekus, Oss færæt, and Skt paraśú, and the proto-form is often compared with Semitic forms, e.g. Akkadian pilakku which some translate as 'axe' but others translate as 'spindle', which is semantically very distant."
* 1 2 3 Martin Bernal, Black Athena: The linguistic evidence
* 1 2 Mayrhofer, Manfred (1996) “paraśú-”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎ (in German), volume 2, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 87

### Further reading

* Monier Williams (1899) “परशु”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 589/2.
* Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “paraśu”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press