ঝি

Inherited from Magadhi Prakrit 𑀥𑀻𑀆 ~ 𑀥𑀺𑀆 (dhīā ~ dhiā), from earlier 𑀥𑀼𑀇𑀤𑀸 (dhuidā), from Sanskrit दुहिता (dúhitā), from Proto-Indo-Aryan *dúźʰHtā, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dʰúj́ʰHtā, from an earlier *dʰúǵʰHtā, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰugh₂tḗr (“daughter”).

The Old Indo-Aryan word morphed unusually with metathesis of aspiration (compare বইন ~ বোন (boin ~ bōn), from Old Indo-Aryan *बघिनी ~ भगिनी (baghinī ~ bhaginī)), deletion of the first vowel and lengthening of the second vowel in many Middle and New Indo-Aryan descendants, with additional palatalization (dh [dʰ] to jh [dźʰ]) in eastern (Magadhan), northwestern (Dardic), southwestern (Old Gujarati) and southern (Old Sinhalese) ones – indicating influence from a possibly pre-Vedic Indo-Aryan language (with loss of the first vowel and sporadic retention of the resulting cluster [dźʰ]; any way, causing the second vowel to be stressed and lengthened) or a non-Indo-European substrate.

• (Rarh) IPA^(key): /dʒʱi/, [ˈdʒʱiˑ]

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• (Dhaka) IPA^(key): /dʑʱi/, [ˈdʑʱiː], [ˈdʑʱiˑ]

ঝি • (jhi)

1. daughter

   Synonyms: পুত্রী (putri), মেয়ে (meẏe), কন্যা (konna)

2. maidservant

• ঝিকে মেরে বউকে শেখানো (jhike mere bouke śekhanō)

• Subhasha Bhattacarya, Sailendra Biswas, Sailendra Biswas, and Jnanendramohana Dasa (2022) “ঝি”, in Digital Dictionaries of South India [Combined Bengali Dictionaries]