इभ

Pali

Alternative forms

Alternative scripts

• ibha (Latin script)
• 𑀇𑀪 (Brahmi script)
• ইভ (Bengali script)
• ඉභ (Sinhalese script)
• ဣဘ or ဢိꧤ (Burmese script)
• อิภ or อิภะ (Thai script)
• ᩍᨽ (Tai Tham script)
• ອິຠ or ອິຠະ (Lao script)
• ឥភ (Khmer script)
• 𑄃𑄨𑄞 (Chakma script)

Noun

इभ m

1. Devanagari script form of ibha (“elephant”)

Declension

Declension table of "इभ" (masculine)

Case \ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	इभो (ibho)	इभा (ibhā)
Accusative (second)	इभं (ibhaṃ)	इभे (ibhe)
Instrumental (third)	इभेन (ibhena)	इभेहि (ibhehi) or इभेभि (ibhebhi)
Dative (fourth)	इभस्स (ibhassa) or इभाय (ibhāya) or इभत्थं (ibhatthaṃ)	इभानं (ibhānaṃ)
Ablative (fifth)	इभस्मा (ibhasmā) or इभम्हा (ibhamhā) or इभा (ibhā)	इभेहि (ibhehi) or इभेभि (ibhebhi)
Genitive (sixth)	इभस्स (ibhassa)	इभानं (ibhānaṃ)
Locative (seventh)	इभस्मिं (ibhasmiṃ) or इभम्हि (ibhamhi) or इभे (ibhe)	इभेसु (ibhesu)
Vocative (calling)	इभ (ibha)	इभा (ibhā)

Prakrit

Noun

इभ (ibha)

1. Devanagari script form of 𑀇𑀪 (“elephant”)

Sanskrit

Alternative scripts

Alternative scripts

• ইভ (Assamese script)
• ᬇᬪ (Balinese script)
• ইভ (Bengali script)
• 𑰂𑰥 (Bhaiksuki script)
• 𑀇𑀪 (Brahmi script)
• ဣဘ (Burmese script)
• ઇભ (Gujarati script)
• ਇਭ (Gurmukhi script)
• 𑌇𑌭 (Grantha script)
• ꦆꦨ (Javanese script)
• 𑂅𑂦 (Kaithi script)
• ಇಭ (Kannada script)
• ឥភ (Khmer script)
• ອິຠ (Lao script)
• ഇഭ (Malayalam script)
• ᡳᢨᠠ (Manchu script)
• 𑘂𑘥 (Modi script)
• ᠢᠪᠾᠠ᠋ (Mongolian script)
• 𑦢𑧅 (Nandinagari script)
• 𑐂𑐨 (Newa script)
• ଇଭ (Odia script)
• ꢄꢩ (Saurashtra script)
• 𑆅𑆨 (Sharada script)
• 𑖂𑖥 (Siddham script)
• ඉභ (Sinhalese script)
• 𑩐𑩑𑩳 (Soyombo script)
• 𑚂𑚡 (Takri script)
• இப⁴ (Tamil script)
• ఇభ (Telugu script)
• อิภ (Thai script)
• ཨི་བྷ (Tibetan script)
• 𑒃𑒦 (Tirhuta script)
• 𑨀𑨁𑨡 (Zanabazar Square script)

Pronunciation

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /í.bʱɐ/
• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /i.bʱɐ/

Etymology 1

Uncertain. Possibly related to Tocharian B yäp- (“to enter”) (for the semantic development, compare the different meanings of विश् (viś)).

Noun

इभ • (íbha) stem, m

1. household, family
2. servant, attendant
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 4.4.1:

     कृणुष्व पाजः प्रसितिं न पृथ्वीं याहि राजेवामवां इभेन ।
     तृष्वीम् अनु प्रसितिं द्रूणानो ऽस्तासि विध्य रक्षसस् तपिष्ठैः ॥

     kṛṇuṣva pājaḥ prasitiṃ na pṛthvīṃ yāhi rājevāmavāṃ ibhena.
     tṛṣvīm anu prasitiṃ drūṇāno ʼstāsi vidhya rakṣasas tapiṣṭhaiḥ.

     Put forth your strength, Agni, like a wide-spreading net, proceed like a king with his attendants;
     You, following your swift net, shoot arrows: transfix the fiends with darts that burn most fiercely.

Declension

Masculine a-stem declension of इभ

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	इभः (íbhaḥ)	इभौ (íbhau) इभा¹ (íbhā¹)	इभाः (íbhāḥ) इभासः¹ (íbhāsaḥ¹)
vocative	इभ (íbha)	इभौ (íbhau) इभा¹ (íbhā¹)	इभाः (íbhāḥ) इभासः¹ (íbhāsaḥ¹)
accusative	इभम् (íbham)	इभौ (íbhau) इभा¹ (íbhā¹)	इभान् (íbhān)
instrumental	इभेन (íbhena)	इभाभ्याम् (íbhābhyām)	इभैः (íbhaiḥ) इभेभिः¹ (íbhebhiḥ¹)
dative	इभाय (íbhāya)	इभाभ्याम् (íbhābhyām)	इभेभ्यः (íbhebhyaḥ)
ablative	इभात् (íbhāt)	इभाभ्याम् (íbhābhyām)	इभेभ्यः (íbhebhyaḥ)
genitive	इभस्य (íbhasya)	इभयोः (íbhayoḥ)	इभानाम् (íbhānām)
locative	इभे (íbhe)	इभयोः (íbhayoḥ)	इभेषु (íbheṣu)

• ¹Vedic

Derived terms

• इभ्य (íbhya, “wealthy”)

Etymology 2

From Proto-Indo-European; compare Ancient Greek (ἐλ-)έφᾱς ((el-)éphās, “elephant, ivory”), Mycenaean Greek 𐀁𐀩𐀞 (e-re-pa /⁠elephās⁠/), Hittite 𒆷𒄴𒉺𒀸 (laḫpaš, “ivory”), and Latin ebur (“ivory”). The term was an ancient Wanderwort, going back to Semitic; compare Demotic yb (“ivory, Elephantine”), Egyptian

(ꜣbw, “ivory, elephant, Elephantine”), Coptic ⲓⲏⲃ (iēb, “Elephantine”), and Tigre ኣቦት (ʾabot).

Noun

इभ • (ibha) stem, m

1. an elephant
   • c. 200 BCE – 200 CE, Manusmṛti 12.67:

     वृको मृगेभं व्याघ्रोऽश्वं फलमूलं तु मर्कटः ।
     स्त्रीमृक्षः स्तोकको वारि यानान्युष्ट्रः पशूनजः ॥

     vṛko mṛgebhaṃ vyāghroʼśvaṃ phalamūlaṃ tu markaṭaḥ.
     strīmṛkṣaḥ stokako vāri yānānyuṣṭraḥ paśūnajaḥ.

     For [the crime of] stealing a deer or an elephant [a man will be reborn as] a wolf, for stealing a horse, [as] a tiger, for stealing fruit and roots, a monkey, for kidnapping a woman, a bear, for stealing water a black-white cuckoo, for stealing vehicles a camel, for stealing cattle a he-goat.

   Synonyms: हस्तिन् (hastin), गज (gaja)

Declension

Masculine a-stem declension of इभ

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	इभः (ibhaḥ)	इभौ (ibhau) इभा¹ (ibhā¹)	इभाः (ibhāḥ) इभासः¹ (ibhāsaḥ¹)
vocative	इभ (ibha)	इभौ (ibhau) इभा¹ (ibhā¹)	इभाः (ibhāḥ) इभासः¹ (ibhāsaḥ¹)
accusative	इभम् (ibham)	इभौ (ibhau) इभा¹ (ibhā¹)	इभान् (ibhān)
instrumental	इभेन (ibhena)	इभाभ्याम् (ibhābhyām)	इभैः (ibhaiḥ) इभेभिः¹ (ibhebhiḥ¹)
dative	इभाय (ibhāya)	इभाभ्याम् (ibhābhyām)	इभेभ्यः (ibhebhyaḥ)
ablative	इभात् (ibhāt)	इभाभ्याम् (ibhābhyām)	इभेभ्यः (ibhebhyaḥ)
genitive	इभस्य (ibhasya)	इभयोः (ibhayoḥ)	इभानाम् (ibhānām)
locative	इभे (ibhe)	इभयोः (ibhayoḥ)	इभेषु (ibheṣu)

• ¹Vedic

Descendants

• Pali: ibha
• Prakrit: 𑀇𑀪 (ibha), 𑀇𑀳 (iha)

References

• Monier Williams (1899) “इभ”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 167, column 3.
• Apte, Vaman Shivram (1890) “इभ”, in The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary, Poona: Prasad Prakashan, page 387
• Hellwig, Oliver (2010–2025) “ibha”, in DCS - The Digital Corpus of Sanskrit, Berlin, Germany.
• Mayrhofer, Manfred (1992) “íbha-”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎^[1] (in German), volume 1, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 194
• Mayrhofer, Manfred (2001) “ibha-”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎^[2] (in German), volume 3, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 28
• Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “ibha”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, page 71
• Arthur Berriedale Keith, Arthur Anthony Macdonell (1912) “ibha”, in Vedic index of names and subjects, volume 1, London: John Murray, Albemarle Street, W. [Published for the Government of India], →OCLC, page 79