ऋतु

See also: ऋत and ऋतू

Hindi

Alternative forms

• रितु (ritu)

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit ऋतु (ṛtú). Doublet of रुत (rut), a tadbhava.

Pronunciation

• (Delhi) IPA^(key): /ɾɪ.t̪uː/

Noun

ऋतु • (ŕtu) f (Urdu spelling رتو)

1. season

   Synonyms: मौसम (mausam), रुत (rut)

   पपीहा वर्षा ऋतु में सदा गाता है।

   papīhā varṣā ŕtu mẽ sadā gātā hai.

   The cuckoo always sings during the rainy season.

   भारत में छह ऋतुएँ होती हैं।

   bhārat mẽ chah ŕtuẽ hotī ha͠i.

   There are six seasons in India.

Declension

Declension of ऋतु (fem u-stem)

	singular	plural
direct	ऋतु ŕtu	ऋतुएँ ŕtuẽ
oblique	ऋतु ŕtu	ऋतुओं ŕtuõ
vocative	ऋतु ŕtu	ऋतुओ ŕtuo

See also

Seasons in Hindi · ऋतु (ŕtu) (layout · text) · category
बसंत (basant), बहार (bahār, “spring”)	गर्मी (garmī), ग्रीष्म (grīṣma, “summer”)	शरत् (śarat), शरद् (śarad, “autumn”)	सर्दी (sardī, “winter”)

References

• McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993) “ऋतु”, in The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, London: Oxford University Press
• Platts, John T. (1884) “ऋतु”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co.

Sanskrit

Alternative scripts

Alternative scripts

• ঋতু (Assamese script)
• ᬋᬢᬸ (Balinese script)
• ঋতু (Bengali script)
• 𑰆𑰝𑰲 (Bhaiksuki script)
• 𑀋𑀢𑀼 (Brahmi script)
• ၒတု (Burmese script)
• ઋતુ (Gujarati script)
• ਰਤੁ (Gurmukhi script)
• 𑌋𑌤𑍁 (Grantha script)
• ꦉꦠꦸ (Javanese script)
• 𑂩𑂱𑂞𑂳 (Kaithi script)
• ಋತು (Kannada script)
• ឫតុ (Khmer script)
• ຣິຕຸ (Lao script)
• ഋതു (Malayalam script)
• ᡵᡳᢠᡠ (Manchu script)
• 𑘆𑘝𑘳 (Modi script)
• ᠷᠢᢐᠤ (Mongolian script)
• 𑦦𑦽𑧔 (Nandinagari script)
• 𑐆𑐟𑐸 (Newa script)
• ଋତୁ (Odia script)
• ꢈꢡꢸ (Saurashtra script)
• 𑆉𑆠𑆶 (Sharada script)
• 𑖆𑖝𑖲 (Siddham script)
• ඍතු (Sinhalese script)
• 𑩐𑩙𑩫𑩒 (Soyombo script)
• 𑚙𑚰 (Takri script)
• ரிது (Tamil script)
• ఋతు (Telugu script)
• ฤตุ (Thai script)
• རྀ་ཏུ (Tibetan script)
• 𑒇𑒞𑒳 (Tirhuta script)
• 𑨫𑨉𑨙𑨃 (Zanabazar Square script)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hr̥túš (“fixed period of time, season”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂r̥-tú-s, from *h₂er- (“to fit, fix”).

Cognate with Avestan 𐬭𐬀𐬙𐬎 (ratu, “period of time”), Ancient Greek ἀρτύς (artús, “bond”), Old Armenian արդ (ard), Latin artus (“joint”).

Pronunciation

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /r̩.tú/
• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /ˈr̩.t̪u/

Noun

ऋतु • (ṛtú) stem, m

1. any settled point of time, fixed time, time appointed for any action (especially for sacrifices and other regular worship), right or fit time
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda
2. an epoch, period (especially a division or part of the year), season
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 4.53.7:

     आग॑न्दे॒व ऋ॒तुभि॒र्वर्ध॑तु॒ क्षयं॒ दधा॑तु नः सवि॒ता सु॑प्र॒जामिष॑म्।
     स न॑: क्ष॒पाभि॒रह॑भिश्च जिन्वतु प्र॒जाव॑न्तं र॒यिम॒स्मे समि॑न्वतु॥

     ā́gandevá ṛtúbhirvárdhatu kṣáyaṃ dádhātu naḥ savitā́ suprajā́míṣam.
     sá na: kṣapā́bhiráhabhiśca jinvatu prajā́vantaṃ rayímasmé sáminvatu.

     With the year's seasons hath Savitar, God, come nigh: may he prosper our home, give food and noble sons.
     May he invigorate us through the days and nights, and may he send us opulence with progeny.

3. fixed order, order, rule
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda
4. the menstrual discharge (in women), the time after the courses (favourable for procreation; according to Bhāvaprakāśa sixteen days after their appearance)
5. sexual union at the above time

See also

Seasons in Sanskrit · ऋतवः (ṛtavaḥ) (layout · text) · category
कुसुमाकर (kusumākara, “spring”)	ग्रीष्म (grīṣma, “summer”)	शरद् (śarad, “autumn”)	हिम (hima, “winter”)

Declension

Masculine u-stem declension of ऋतु (ṛtú)
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ऋतुः ṛtúḥ	ऋतू ṛtū́	ऋतवः ṛtávaḥ
Vocative	ऋतो ṛ́to	ऋतू ṛ́tū	ऋतवः ṛ́tavaḥ
Accusative	ऋतुम् ṛtúm	ऋतू ṛtū́	ऋतून् ṛtū́n
Instrumental	ऋतुना / ऋत्वा¹ ṛtúnā / ṛtvā́¹	ऋतुभ्याम् ṛtúbhyām	ऋतुभिः ṛtúbhiḥ
Dative	ऋतवे / ऋत्वे¹ ṛtáve / ṛtvé¹	ऋतुभ्याम् ṛtúbhyām	ऋतुभ्यः ṛtúbhyaḥ
Ablative	ऋतोः / ऋत्वः¹ ṛtóḥ / ṛtváḥ¹	ऋतुभ्याम् ṛtúbhyām	ऋतुभ्यः ṛtúbhyaḥ
Genitive	ऋतोः / ऋत्वः¹ ṛtóḥ / ṛtváḥ¹	ऋत्वोः ṛtvóḥ	ऋतूनाम् ṛtūnā́m
Locative	ऋतौ ṛtaú	ऋत्वोः ṛtvóḥ	ऋतुषु ṛtúṣu
Notes	¹Vedic

Derived terms

• आर्तव (ārtava)

Descendants

• Maharastri Prakrit: 𑀉𑀉 (uu)
• Paisaci Prakrit:
  • Punjabi:
    • Gurmukhi script: ਰੁੱਤ (rutta)
    • Shahmukhi script: رُت (rutta)
• Pali: utu

Borrowed terms

• → Assamese: ঋতু (ritu)
• → Bengali: ঋতু (ritu)
• → Gujarati: ઋતુ (ŕtu)
• → Hindi: ऋतु (ŕtu), रितु (ritu), रुत (rut)
• → Khmer: រដូវ (rɔdəw)
• → Lao: ລະດູ (la dū)
• → Marathi: ऋतू (ŕtū), रुतू (rutū)
• → Old Marathi: 𑘨𑘳𑘝𑘳 (rutu)
• → Sinhalese: ඍතුව (r̥tuwa)
• → Telugu: ఋతువు (r̥tuvu)
• → Thai: ฤดู (rʉ́-duu)
• → Urdu: رتو (ritu)

Further reading

• Monier Williams (1899) “ऋतु”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 0224/1.