It just occurred to me today how similar the Thai word สถิติ is to the English word 'statistics'. I wonder if they are related.

 

สถิติ is a Pali/Sanskrit word, and from what I have seen, 'statistics' derives from a PIE root 'sta-' meaning 'to stand, make firm', and then via Latin into English.

 

I'm sure there's no way to check; I'm noticed a few Thai words where I've wondered whether the same mechanism might be in play.

 

I think it's possible - more recently, the Arab word 'mawsim' went into Thai as มรสุม , and into Portuguese, Dutch and then English as 'monsoon'.

Yes สถิติ is of Pali/Sanskrit origin.

 

Maybe the similarity to the English word comes from the Sanskrit/Greek/Latin/English route.

 

Alexander the Great can be blamed for this, he almost conquered India in 325 BC.

 

Actually the Proto-Indo-European language is the mother of many European and Asian languages including Sanskrit and Greek.

Amazing that a word could possibly survive such a circuitous route intact!

Edited May 4, 20197 yr by LosLobo

I was thinking more that the PIE word, originating in the PIE urheimat or in Persia, was exported both east to India (Pali/Sanskrit) and west to Europe (Greek/Latin).

 

It could still be Alexander the Great's fault, though ....

 

Or it could be a coincidence.

3 hours ago, RickBradford said:

I was thinking more that the PIE word, originating in the PIE urheimat or in Persia, was exported both east to India (Pali/Sanskrit) and west to Europe (Greek/Latin).

 

It could still be Alexander the Great's fault, though ....

 

Or it could be a coincidence.

I don't think it is a coincidence.

 

Alexander conquered Persia and much of the Indus Valley up to the Ganges Plain.

 

So your hypothesis as to the origins of "statistics" and a lot of other thai words coming from a common root from opposite ends of the globe is something that is today shared by other scholars worldwide, ie (IMHO)  ????

12 hours ago, RickBradford said:

สถิติ is a Pali/Sanskrit word, and from what I have seen, 'statistics' derives from a PIE root 'sta-' meaning 'to stand, make firm', and then via Latin into English.

Looking at the etymology of “statistics”; it was introduced in the late 18th century from German (“statistisch”) where the term was likely coined by Gottfried Aschenwall in his book about “staatswissenschaft” (1748).

 

It seems the most likely explanation is that Thais were taught about statistics by people from the West and simply adopted the Western word, but with simplified Thai spelling, as they have done with countless other words describing items or concepts learned from other countries (something also done in the West).

21 minutes ago, lkn said:

Looking at the etymology of “statistics”; it was introduced in the late 18th century from German (“statistisch”) where the term was likely coined by Gottfried Aschenwall in his book about “staatswissenschaft” (1748).

 

It seems the most likely explanation is that Thais were taught about statistics by people from the West and simply adopted the Western word, but with simplified Thai spelling, as they have done with countless other words describing items or concepts learned from other countries (something also done in the West).

The Proto-Indo-European language is probably the distant mother of German too!

 

Thai dictionaries state that สถิติ (sà-tì-dtì) is of Pali/Sanskrit origin ….ie it is not adopted from the West.

Edited May 4, 20197 yr by LosLobo