लिङ्ग

Hindi

Pronunciation

• (Delhi) IPA^(key): /lɪŋɡ/, [lɪ̃ŋɡ]

Noun

लिङ्ग • (liṅg) m (Urdu spelling لِن٘گ)

1. alternative spelling of लिंग (liṅg)

Declension

Declension of लिङ्ग (masc cons-stem)

	singular	plural
direct	लिङ्ग liṅg	लिङ्ग liṅg
oblique	लिङ्ग liṅg	लिङ्गों liṅgõ
vocative	लिङ्ग liṅg	लिङ्गो liṅgo

Pali

Alternative forms

Alternative scripts

• liṅga (Latin script)
• 𑀮𑀺𑀗𑁆𑀕 (Brahmi script)
• লিঙ্গ (Bengali script)
• ලිඞ‍්ග (Sinhalese script)
• လိင်္ဂ or လိင်္ၷ or လိင်ၷ (Burmese script)
• ลิงฺค or ลิงคะ (Thai script)
• ᩃᩥᩘᨣ (Tai Tham script)
• ລິງ຺ຄ or ລິງຄະ (Lao script)
• លិង្គ (Khmer script)
• 𑄣𑄨𑄋𑄴𑄉 (Chakma script)

Noun

लिङ्ग n

1. Devanagari script form of liṅga (“sign”)

Declension

Declension table of "लिङ्ग" (neuter)

Case \ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	लिङ्गं (liṅgaṃ)	लिङ्गानि (liṅgāni)
Accusative (second)	लिङ्गं (liṅgaṃ)	लिङ्गानि (liṅgāni)
Instrumental (third)	लिङ्गेन (liṅgena)	लिङ्गेहि (liṅgehi) or लिङ्गेभि (liṅgebhi)
Dative (fourth)	लिङ्गस्स (liṅgassa) or लिङ्गाय (liṅgāya) or लिङ्गत्थं (liṅgatthaṃ)	लिङ्गानं (liṅgānaṃ)
Ablative (fifth)	लिङ्गस्मा (liṅgasmā) or लिङ्गम्हा (liṅgamhā) or लिङ्गा (liṅgā)	लिङ्गेहि (liṅgehi) or लिङ्गेभि (liṅgebhi)
Genitive (sixth)	लिङ्गस्स (liṅgassa)	लिङ्गानं (liṅgānaṃ)
Locative (seventh)	लिङ्गस्मिं (liṅgasmiṃ) or लिङ्गम्हि (liṅgamhi) or लिङ्गे (liṅge)	लिङ्गेसु (liṅgesu)
Vocative (calling)	लिङ्ग (liṅga)	लिङ्गानि (liṅgāni)

Sanskrit

Alternative scripts

Alternative scripts

• লিঙ্গ (Assamese script)
• ᬮᬶᬗ᭄ᬕ (Balinese script)
• লিঙ্গ (Bengali script)
• 𑰩𑰰𑰒𑰿𑰐 (Bhaiksuki script)
• 𑀮𑀺𑀗𑁆𑀕 (Brahmi script)
• လိင်္ဂ (Burmese script)
• લિઙ્ગ (Gujarati script)
• ਲਿਙ੍ਗ (Gurmukhi script)
• 𑌲𑌿𑌙𑍍𑌗 (Grantha script)
• ꦭꦶꦔ꧀ꦒ (Javanese script)
• 𑂪𑂱𑂑𑂹𑂏 (Kaithi script)
• ಲಿಙ್ಗ (Kannada script)
• លិង្គ (Khmer script)
• ລິງ຺ຄ (Lao script)
• ലിങ്ഗ (Malayalam script)
• ᠯᡳᢛᡤᠠ (Manchu script)
• 𑘩𑘱𑘒𑘿𑘐 (Modi script)
• ᠯᠢᢊᠺᠠ (Mongolian script)
• 𑧉𑧒𑦲𑧠𑦰 (Nandinagari script)
• 𑐮𑐶𑐒𑑂𑐐 (Newa script)
• ଲିଙ୍ଗ (Odia script)
• ꢭꢶꢖ꣄ꢔ (Saurashtra script)
• 𑆬𑆴𑆕𑇀𑆓 (Sharada script)
• 𑖩𑖰𑖒𑖿𑖐 (Siddham script)
• ලිඞ‍්ග (Sinhalese script)
• 𑩽𑩑𑩠 𑪙𑩞 (Soyombo script)
• 𑚥𑚮𑚎𑚶𑚌 (Takri script)
• லிங்க³ (Tamil script)
• లిఙ్గ (Telugu script)
• ลิงฺค (Thai script)
• ལི་ངྒ (Tibetan script)
• 𑒪𑒱𑒓𑓂𑒑 (Tirhuta script)
• 𑨬𑨁𑨏𑩇𑨍 (Zanabazar Square script)

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-Iranian *lingás ~ *ringás (“mark, sign, token”). Cognate with Avestan -𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬧𐬔𐬀 (-iriṇga) (attested in 𐬵𐬀𐬞𐬙𐬋𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬧𐬔𐬀 (haptōⁱriṇga, “the constellation Ursa Major”, literally “having seven signs”)), Sogdian [script needed] (pryng /⁠paring⁠/, “damask textile with markings on it”) (< *upa-ringa-).

Pronunciation

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /liŋ.ɡɐ/
• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /l̪iŋ.ɡɐ/

Noun

लिङ्ग • (liṅga) stem, n

1. mark, spot, sign, token, badge, form, emblem, characteristic, representation
   • late 1st millennium BCE, Maitrāyaṇīya Upaniṣad
   • c. 700 CE – 900 CE, Bhāgavata Purāṇa 3.5.32:

     तामसो भूतसूक्ष्मादिर्यतः खं लिङ्ग्आत्मनः॥

     tāmaso bhūtasūkṣmādiryataḥ khaṃ liṅgātmanaḥ.

     The sky is a product of sound, and sound is the transformation of egoistic ignorance. In other words, the sky is the symbolic representation of the Supreme Soul.

   • c. 700 CE – 900 CE, Bhāgavata Purāṇa 5.20.33:

     यत्तत्कर्ममयं लिङ्गं ब्रह्मलिङ्गं जनोऽर्चयेत्। एकान्तमद्वयं शान्तं तस्मै भगवते नम इति॥

     yattatkarmamayaṃ liṅgaṃ brahmaliṅgaṃ janoʼrcayet. ekāntamadvayaṃ śāntaṃ tasmai bhagavate nama iti.

     [Lord Brahmā is] the form resulting from karma; and a person should worship that form of the Supreme Brahman. We pay our respects to the lord who is absolute and perfect, peaceful, and nondifferent [from Kṛṣṇa].

   1. (anatomy) the sign of gender or sex; organ of generation; genital
      • c. 700 CE – 900 CE, Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.3.53:

        यशोदा नन्दपत्नी च जातं परमबुध्यत। न तल्लिङ्गं परिश्रान्ता निद्रयापगतस्मृतिः॥

        yaśodā nandapatnī ca jātaṃ paramabudhyata. na talliṅgaṃ pariśrāntā nidrayāpagatasmṛtiḥ.

        Exhausted by the labor of childbirth, Yaśodā, the wife of Nanda, was overwhelmed with sleep and unable to understand what was the gender of the child born to her.

      1. the male organ or phallus; penis
         • c. 200 BCE – 200 CE, Manusmṛti

         Synonyms: see Thesaurus:शिश्न

         1. (Shaivism) lingam; (especially) the phallus of Shiva worshipped in the form of a stone or marble column which generally rises out of a yoni

            Synonym: शिवलिङ्ग (śivaliṅga)

2. (grammar) gender
3. any assumed or false badge or mark, guise, disguise
4. proof, evidence
5. sign of guilt, corpus delicti
6. the image of a god, an idol
7. (logic) the invariable mark which proves the existence of anything in an object (as in the proposition ‘there is fire because there is smoke’, smoke is the liṅga)
8. inference, conclusion, reason
9. symptom, mark of disease

Declension

Neuter a-stem declension of लिङ्ग

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	लिङ्गम् (liṅgam)	लिङ्गे (liṅge)	लिङ्गानि (liṅgāni) लिङ्गा¹ (liṅgā¹)
vocative	लिङ्ग (liṅga)	लिङ्गे (liṅge)	लिङ्गानि (liṅgāni) लिङ्गा¹ (liṅgā¹)
accusative	लिङ्गम् (liṅgam)	लिङ्गे (liṅge)	लिङ्गानि (liṅgāni) लिङ्गा¹ (liṅgā¹)
instrumental	लिङ्गेन (liṅgena)	लिङ्गाभ्याम् (liṅgābhyām)	लिङ्गैः (liṅgaiḥ) लिङ्गेभिः¹ (liṅgebhiḥ¹)
dative	लिङ्गाय (liṅgāya)	लिङ्गाभ्याम् (liṅgābhyām)	लिङ्गेभ्यः (liṅgebhyaḥ)
ablative	लिङ्गात् (liṅgāt)	लिङ्गाभ्याम् (liṅgābhyām)	लिङ्गेभ्यः (liṅgebhyaḥ)
genitive	लिङ्गस्य (liṅgasya)	लिङ्गयोः (liṅgayoḥ)	लिङ्गानाम् (liṅgānām)
locative	लिङ्गे (liṅge)	लिङ्गयोः (liṅgayoḥ)	लिङ्गेषु (liṅgeṣu)

• ¹Vedic

Descendants

• Pali: liṅga
  • → Thai: ลึงค์ (lʉng), ลิงค์ (ling) (or borrowed directly from Sanskrit)
• Prakrit: 𑀮𑀺𑀁𑀕 (liṃga) (see there for further descendants)
• → English: lingam
• → Kannada: ಲಿಂಗ (liṅga)
• → Khmer: លិង្គ (lɨng)

Further reading

• Monier Williams (1899) “लिङ्ग”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 901, column 3.
• Apte, Vaman Shivram (1890) “लिङ्गम्”, in The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary, Poona: Prasad Prakashan
• Hellwig, Oliver (2010–2025) “liṅga”, in DCS - The Digital Corpus of Sanskrit, Berlin, Germany.
• Arthur Anthony Macdonell (1893) “लिङ्ग”, in A practical Sanskrit dictionary with transliteration, accentuation, and etymological analysis throughout, London: Oxford University Press
• Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “liṅga”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press
• Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju (2003) The Dravidian Languages (Cambridge Language Surveys), Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 24.