Apabhramsa

noun

Apa·​bhram·​sa

ˌəpəˈbrəmshə

plural -s

: a stage of an Indic language characterized by linguistic changes not found in a more conservative stage that serves as a standard of correctness:

a

: non-Sanskrit linguistic forms in Indic speech prior to approximately the 3d century a.d.

b

: an Indic language spoken in approximately the 3d to the 5th centuries a.d. and differing from the literary Prakrit

c

: an Indic language that was used as a vehicle for poetry from approximately the 6th to the 12th centuries and that shows linguistic changes not found in Prakrit

Word History

Etymology

Sanskrit apabhraṁśa, literally, fall

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