Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SAN'SCRIT, n. [According to H. T. Colebrooke, Sanscrit signifies the polished dialect. It is sometimes written Shanscrit, and in other ways. Asian Res. 7, 200.]

The ancient language of Hindoostan, from which are formed all the modern languages or dialects of the great peninsula of India. It is the language of the Bramins, and in this are written the ancient books of the country; but it is now obsolete. It is from the same stock as the ancient Persic, Greek and Latin, and all the present languages of Europe.