Word history
Monier-Williams (1899) records sāmanta with the sense “district chief”. Sāmanta has a territorial title sense as well as the older meaning neighbour. The selected dictionary entry describes a subordinate ruler or district chief in relation to a greater authority. सामन्त records the title word. The explanation concerns historical administrative vocabulary and does not establish a modern rank for a surname.
Sources: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899) · headword sāmanta, page 1205, column 3, entry L242352 · Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899) · headword sāmanta, page 1205, column 3, entry L242353
Literal dictionary sense
Native-script forms
Sources and attribution
- Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899) · headword sāmanta, page 1205, column 3, entry L242352
- Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899) · headword sāmanta, page 1205, column 3, entry L242353
Dictionary senses and word histories are selected and adapted. Adapted lexical text is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Linked Wiktionary entries provide contributor histories. Source register.