# लिङ्ग
## Hindi
### Pronunciation

* (Delhi) IPA: /lɪŋɡ/, [lɪ̃ŋɡ]

### Noun

लिङ्ग • (liṅg) m (Urdu spelling لِن٘گ)
* alternative spelling of लिंग (liṅg)

#### Declension
## Pali
### Alternative forms

* liṅga (Latin script)
* 𑀮𑀺𑀗𑁆𑀕 (Brahmi script)
* লিঙ্গ (Bengali script)
* ලිඞ‍්ග (Sinhalese script)
* လိင်္ဂ or လိင်္ၷ or လိင်ၷ (Burmese script)
* ลิงฺค or ลิงคะ (Thai script)
* ᩃᩥᩘᨣ (Tai Tham script)
* ລິງ຺ຄ or ລິງຄະ (Lao script)
* លិង្គ (Khmer script)
* 𑄣𑄨𑄋𑄴𑄉 (Chakma script)

### Noun

लिङ्ग n
* Devanagari script form of liṅga (“sign”)

#### Declension
## Sanskrit
### Alternative scripts

* লিঙ্গ (Assamese script)
* ᬮᬶᬗ᭄ᬕ (Balinese script)
* লিঙ্গ (Bengali script)
* 𑰩𑰰𑰒𑰿𑰐 (Bhaiksuki script)
* 𑀮𑀺𑀗𑁆𑀕 (Brahmi script)
* လိင်္ဂ (Burmese script)
* લિઙ્ગ (Gujarati script)
* ਲਿਙ੍ਗ (Gurmukhi script)
* 𑌲𑌿𑌙𑍍𑌗 (Grantha script)
* ꦭꦶꦔ꧀ꦒ (Javanese script)
* 𑂪𑂱𑂑𑂹𑂏 (Kaithi script)
* ಲಿಙ್ಗ (Kannada script)
* លិង្គ (Khmer script)
* ລິງ຺ຄ (Lao script)
* ലിങ്ഗ (Malayalam script)
* ᠯᡳᢛᡤᠠ (Manchu script)
* 𑘩𑘱𑘒𑘿𑘐 (Modi script)
* ᠯᠢᢊᠺᠠ (Mongolian script)
* 𑧉𑧒𑦲𑧠𑦰 (Nandinagari script)
* 𑐮𑐶𑐒𑑂𑐐 (Newa script)
* ଲିଙ୍ଗ (Odia script)
* ꢭꢶꢖ꣄ꢔ (Saurashtra script)
* 𑆬𑆴𑆕𑇀𑆓 (Sharada script)
* 𑖩𑖰𑖒𑖿𑖐 (Siddham script)
* ලිඞ‍්ග (Sinhalese script)
* 𑩽𑩑𑩠 𑪙𑩞 (Soyombo script)
* 𑚥𑚮𑚎𑚶𑚌 (Takri script)
* லிங்க³ (Tamil script)
* లిఙ్గ (Telugu script)
* ลิงฺค (Thai script)
* ལི་ངྒ (Tibetan script)
* 𑒪𑒱𑒓𑓂𑒑 (Tirhuta script)
* 𑨬𑨁𑨏𑩇𑨍 (Zanabazar Square script)

### Etymology

From Proto-Indo-Iranian *lingás ~ *ringás (“mark, sign, token”). Cognate with Avestan -𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬧𐬔𐬀 (-iriṇga) (attested in 𐬵𐬀𐬞𐬙𐬋𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬧𐬔𐬀 (haptō$^i$riṇga, “the constellation Ursa Major”, literally “having seven signs”)), Sogdian [script needed] (pryng /⁠paring⁠/, “damask textile with markings on it”) (< *upa-ringa-).

### Pronunciation

* (Vedic) IPA: /liŋ.ɡɐ/
* (Classical Sanskrit) IPA: /l̪iŋ.ɡɐ/

### Noun

लिङ्ग • (liṅga) stem, n
* mark, spot, sign, token, badge, form, emblem, characteristic, representation
** late 1st millennium BCE, Maitrāyaṇīya Upaniṣad
** Dharmakīrti, Pramāṇavārttika :वेदप्रामाण्यं कस्यचित् कर्तृवादः । स्नाने धर्मेच्छा जातिवादावलेपः । संतापारम्भः पापहानाय चेति । ध्वस्तप्रज्ञानां पञ्च लिङ्गानि जाड्ये ॥vedaprāmāṇyaṃ kasyacit kartṛvādaḥ. snāne dharmecchā jātivādāvalepaḥ. saṃtāpārambhaḥ pāpahānāya ceti. dhvastaprajñānāṃ pañca liṅgāni jāḍye.Five are the signs of stupidity of those with destroyed intellect: belief in the authoritativeness of Vedas, faith in a creator, seeing piety in bathing, pride in one's caste and penance for getting rid of sin.
* (anatomy) the sign of gender or sex; organ of generation; genital
** the male organ or phallus; penis
*** Rasaratnākara 7.1:वीर्यं स्थिरं योनिमुखेषु येषां स्थूलं दृढं दीर्घतमं च लिङ्गम् । तेषां प्रगल्भाः प्रमदाश् च सर्वा भवन्ति तृप्ताः सुरतप्रसङ्गे ॥vīryaṃ sthiraṃ yonimukheṣu yeṣāṃ sthūlaṃ dṛḍhaṃ dīrghatamaṃ ca liṅgam. teṣāṃ pragalbhāḥ pramadāś ca sarvā bhavanti tṛptāḥ surataprasaṅge.The seed of the one with a strong, stout and long penis reaches the mouth of the womb. All proud and wanton females are satisfied with them during copulation.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:शिश्न
*** (Shaivism) lingam; the phallic form of Shiva worshipped in the form of a stone or marble column which generally rises out of a yoni
    Synonym: शिवलिङ्ग (śivaliṅga)
* gender, sex
** Uttararāmacarita :गुणाः पूजास्थानं गुणिषु न च लिङ्गं न च वयः ।guṇāḥ pūjāsthānaṃ guṇiṣu na ca liṅgaṃ na ca vayaḥ.Praiseworthy are virtues of the meritorious, not their gender or age.
* (grammar) gender
* any assumed or false badge or mark, guise, disguise
* proof, evidence
* sign of guilt, corpus delicti
* the image of a god, an idol
* (logic) the invariable mark which proves the existence of anything in an object (as in the proposition ‘there is fire because there is smoke’, smoke is the liṅga)
* inference, conclusion, reason
* symptom, mark of disease

#### Declension

* ¹Vedic

#### Descendants

* Pali: liṅga
** → Thai: ลึงค์ (lʉng), ลิงค์ (ling) (or borrowed directly from Sanskrit)
* Prakrit: 𑀮𑀺𑀁𑀕 (liṃga) (see there for further descendants)
* → English: lingam
* → Kannada: ಲಿಂಗ (liṅga)
* → Khmer: លិង្គ (lɨng)

### Further reading

* Monier Williams (1899) “लिङ्ग”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 901, column 3.
* Apte, Vaman Shivram (1890) “लिङ्गम्”, in The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary, Poona: Prasad Prakashan
* Hellwig, Oliver (2010–2025) “liṅga”, in DCS - The Digital Corpus of Sanskrit, Berlin, Germany.
* Arthur Anthony Macdonell (1893) “लिङ्ग”, in A practical Sanskrit dictionary with transliteration, accentuation, and etymological analysis throughout, London: Oxford University Press
* Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “liṅga”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press