Devanagari

noun

De·va·na·ga·ri ˌdā-və-ˈnä-gə-rē

: an alphabet usually employed for Sanskrit and also used as a literary hand for various modern languages of India see Alphabet Table

Examples of Devanagari in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Whereas Hindi is written in the Devanagari script, which has strong cultural associations with Hinduism, Urdu is written in the Perso-Arabic script, which has strong associations with Islam. —

Phillip M. Carter, Fortune, 27 Sep. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Sanskrit devanāgarī, from deva divine + nāgarī (writing) of the city — more at deity

First Known Use

1781, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of Devanagari was in 1781

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Devanagari.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Devanagari. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation

Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the Day

urbane

Listen to the pronunciation of urbane

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!