Pali

Pali (a corruption of the Sanscrit Prakrit, q.v.) is the name of the sacred language of the Buddhists. Its origin must be sought for in one or several of the popular dialects of ancient India, which are comprised under the general name of Prakrit, and stand in a similar relation to Sanscrit as the Romance languages, in their earlier period, to Latin. SEE SANSCRIT.