Maharashtrin.
/ˌmɑː(h)əˈrɑːʃtri/, /ˌmɑː(h)əˈraʃtri/, U.S. /ˌmɑ(h)əˈrɑʃtri/ The Prakrit language of Maharashtra (see Maharashtrian n. and adj.), the ancestor of Marathi.
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the mind > language > languages of the world > Indo-Hittite > [noun] > Indo-European > Indo-Iranian > Indic > Sanskrit > Prakrit
Prakrit1766
Maharashtri1880
1803 H. T. Colebrooke in Asiatick Researches (London ed.) 7 227 The Maháráshtra or Mahrátta is the language of a nation which has in the present century greatly enlarged its antient limits.]
1880 A. F. R. Hoernle Compar. Gram. Gaudian Lang. p. xviii There are in reality only two varieties of Prákrit. One includes the Ṣaurasení and the (so-called) Maháráshṭrí.
1900 R. B. Joshi Comprehensive Marathi Gram. i. 35 Our present Marathi is derived from the Maharashtri through the Apabransha form of that Prakrit language.
1903 Indian Antiquary 32 189 It will be seen that Marâthî occupies exactly the same position within the modern Indo-Aryan vernaculars as Mâhârâshṭrî among the Prâkrits.
1968 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 429/1 Later, Māhārāṣṭrī was especially used in composing lyric poetry, possibly on the basis of a popular oral lyric in the dialect; it began to flourish in the 3rd–4th centuries a.d.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1880