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ArchivesRe: Arushi meaning
in reply to a message by jiop
The poster is probably correct about the etymology of the name.
However, it is also true that आरुषि (AruSi, long open a, short u, short I; the last sibilant is usually palatal in common speech; though originally retroflex) has been used as the Hindi spelling of the name, popularized by the news coverage of a 13-year old girl who was murdered. The newspaper reports sometimes used the long -I at the end (आरुषी AruSI), but almost never the schwa in the beginning (i.e., अरुषी aruSI was not used).
What is likely is that अरुषी aruSI was the intended name: whether the old Rgvedic word for the red horses/flames of the fire god, traditionally described as either being from the root ruc meaning to shine or from the root R to move/rise/obtain; or as an epithet of the fire god meaning someone without anger/violence; or the meanings related to these like red, sun, day or dawn; is not clear. In this part of the country, however, names are often given for their sound with little research into the claimed meanings, and sounds are often misheard. Though, the a-/A- distinction and -I/-I distinction are both phonemic in Hindi, the predominant language in this region; it is also linguistically mixed (being near the capital), and अरुषी aruSI to आरुषि AruSI is not inconceivable.
Of course, आरुषी (AruSI) has been used as a name in the epic Mahabharata. A lot of names in the epic, however, are either inexplicable or have unusual meanings; probably because it is from a period where the language was already mixing up and breaking into vernaculars. But its presence in the epic means that the name could conceivably also be from the root ruS and mean "injuring" consistent with what is on this site (and the word, but not the name, does appear in this meaning in the Rgveda).
The most popular spelling AruSi with a short -I, however, is not Sanskrit.
However, it is also true that आरुषि (AruSi, long open a, short u, short I; the last sibilant is usually palatal in common speech; though originally retroflex) has been used as the Hindi spelling of the name, popularized by the news coverage of a 13-year old girl who was murdered. The newspaper reports sometimes used the long -I at the end (आरुषी AruSI), but almost never the schwa in the beginning (i.e., अरुषी aruSI was not used).
What is likely is that अरुषी aruSI was the intended name: whether the old Rgvedic word for the red horses/flames of the fire god, traditionally described as either being from the root ruc meaning to shine or from the root R to move/rise/obtain; or as an epithet of the fire god meaning someone without anger/violence; or the meanings related to these like red, sun, day or dawn; is not clear. In this part of the country, however, names are often given for their sound with little research into the claimed meanings, and sounds are often misheard. Though, the a-/A- distinction and -I/-I distinction are both phonemic in Hindi, the predominant language in this region; it is also linguistically mixed (being near the capital), and अरुषी aruSI to आरुषि AruSI is not inconceivable.
Of course, आरुषी (AruSI) has been used as a name in the epic Mahabharata. A lot of names in the epic, however, are either inexplicable or have unusual meanings; probably because it is from a period where the language was already mixing up and breaking into vernaculars. But its presence in the epic means that the name could conceivably also be from the root ruS and mean "injuring" consistent with what is on this site (and the word, but not the name, does appear in this meaning in the Rgveda).
The most popular spelling AruSi with a short -I, however, is not Sanskrit.
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Replies
If I'm interpreting all this correctly, I will change the entry to something like:
From Sanskrit अरुष (arusha) meaning "reddish, dawn", a word used in the Rigveda to describe the red horses of Agni. This name also appears in the Hindu epic the 'Mahabharata' belonging to a daughter of Manu and the wife of Chyavana, though in this case it might derive from Sanskrit आरुषी (arushi) meaning "hitting, killing".
From Sanskrit अरुष (arusha) meaning "reddish, dawn", a word used in the Rigveda to describe the red horses of Agni. This name also appears in the Hindu epic the 'Mahabharata' belonging to a daughter of Manu and the wife of Chyavana, though in this case it might derive from Sanskrit आरुषी (arushi) meaning "hitting, killing".
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