Namaste

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Dr. Goodword
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Namaste

Postby Dr. Goodword » Tue Sep 13, 2022 7:43 pm

• namaste •


Pronunciation: nah-mês-tay, nê-mah-stayHear it!

Part of Speech: Noun, interjection

Meaning: A traditional gesture of greeting made by bringing the hands together and bowing, used widely in South Asia and the Far East. It is called sampeah in Cambodia and wai in Thailand.

Notes: The good doctor was at an Indian festival recently and was greeted several times by Hindu friends and acquaintances with a namaste. Namaskar is considered slightly more formal than namaste, but both express deep respect. Both are lexical orphans.

In Play: The main work of namaste is as a noun: "We were met at the door with a namaste from our hostess." However, it works just as well as a interjection: "Finishing work on his motorcycle, Pranit said, 'Namaste', praying that it works."

Word History: In 1965, when immigration quotas were removed, immigration from India surged to the point Indian immigrants became the second largest such population after Mexicans. Hence, even though namaste is used throughout Southeast Asia, today's Good Word came to us from Hindi, from Sanskrit namas te "obeisance to you", from namas "obeisance, homage" + te, dative (the to/for case) of tuam "you". Namas was made from PIE nem-/nom- "to take, put in order, count", source also of Greek nomos "habitual practice, use", Latin Nemesis "goddess of justice", Russian snimat' "take off, remove", Icelandic nema "study, learn, take", and German nehmen "to take". Tuam was passed down from PIE tu "you (singular). This word ended up as Latin tu, Welsh ti, Irish and thú, Russian ty, German du, and English thou. (Gratitude is due Susan Maynard for recommending today's Hindi Good Word, now worming its way into the English vocabulary.)
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David Myer
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Re: Namaste

Postby David Myer » Wed Sep 14, 2022 3:06 am

I must say I thought that namaste was the word used in the greeting and Namaskar was the action of greeting. So in a namaskar you bow and say "Namaste". But the explanation above suggests that we have 'a namaste'. Hitherto I had assumed that the noun and indefinite (or definite) article was namaskar. I will continue to tread warily in these waters!

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Re: Namaste

Postby Slava » Wed Sep 14, 2022 7:54 pm

I took a shallow dip into the waters of the Internot and came up with the idea that in most cases namaste and namastar are essentially equivalents. I'd never heard the latter previously, I must admit. Dipping into other cultures is frequently fraught with pitfalls. The person who tells you such and such means X may not speak for everyone who practices X, for one. I'll leave this one for true practioners of the form, and stay satisfied that I have a clue as to its meaning.
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Re: Namaste

Postby David Myer » Thu Sep 15, 2022 6:35 pm

Thanks Slava. I share your squeamishness and your intention to leave it to others more learned on the issue.

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Re: Namaste

Postby Philip Hudson » Thu Sep 15, 2022 7:10 pm

Here in the hinterlands, we say, "how-DEEH?" or "How y'all are?" or "Come in n take a load off n set a spell?
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.

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Re: Namaste

Postby David Myer » Fri Sep 16, 2022 5:49 am

I think I like better the hinterlands equivalents. Somehow more welcoming.

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Slava
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Re: Namaste

Postby Slava » Fri Sep 16, 2022 3:31 pm

I was going to say that I would ask the Gujaratis who run the local corner store how they use it, and then realized that I didn't know if they would actually use it at all. So I decided to ask the Internot: do people in Gujarat say namaste? The first hit was one of those boxed, extended links that shows the first paragraph, and, in addition to answering my question in the affirmative, there was this most wonderful sentence: "Respecting others is an eccentric feature of Gujaratis." Yep, respect is an eccentricity. Not sure how to take that, so: :D :o :shock: :cry:.
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Re: Namaste

Postby bbeeton » Fri Sep 16, 2022 10:35 pm

We have a favorite Indian restaurant (in Providence, RI). One of the regular servers is Tibetan, and he always greets us with "Namaste", his hands with palms together, pointing upward, and nodding his head slightly. I don't know whether this is his tradition, or learned from the people he associates with, but we do feel welcomed.

We've gotten to know the owner of this (and a few other restaurants, also Indian, but from different regions) but never known him to practice this greeting. He came from Delhi, and still has family there, whom he goes to visit almost every year at the time of an important festival.

So, based on personal contacts rather than any study of the underlying traditions or languages, I'm not at all clear on its grammar but find it to be a welcome greeting in an appropriate context

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Re: Namaste

Postby David Myer » Thu Sep 22, 2022 6:08 am

Splendid discovery, Slava. I love that respect is an eccentricity. As you say, a wonderful find. Perhaps something was lost in a translation somewhere.

And I like the sound of your restaurant, Barbara. I will seek it out if ever I get to Rhode Island.

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Re: Namaste

Postby LukeJavan8 » Thu Sep 22, 2022 12:28 pm

or just "wassup?"
-----please, draw me a sheep-----


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