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Posted

I have wondered about the Thai word องค์ which is often used in a royal context or for holy images. Phonetically it sounds very similar to Ankh if you take away I don't know a lot about Ankh but does anyone have any insight if there is any relation?

Posted
I have wondered about the Thai word องค์ which is often used in a royal context or for holy images. Phonetically it sounds very similar to Ankh if you take away I don't know a lot about Ankh but does anyone have any insight if there is any relation?

According to the RID, องค์ has a Sanskrit/Pali etymology. (ป., ส. องฺค).

Posted (edited)

There's no connection between the two that I know of, or that seems historically likely.

The Egyptian ankh symbol comes from a word meaning "life, spirit". The same root is seen, for example, in the name of the Tutankhamun, literally "living image of Amun".

Thai องค์ is from Pali/Sanskrit aṅga, meaning limb, member, or body. Hence องครักษ์ "bodyguard", etc.

Semantically they're not far off, but these must be false friends.

Edited by Rikker

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