Editing Devanagari (section)

== Etymology ==
{{IAST|Devanāgarī}} is formed by the addition of the word {{IAST|[[Deva (Hinduism)|deva]]}} ({{lang|sa|[[wikt:देव|देव]]}}) to the word {{IAST|[[Nāgarī script|nāgarī]]}} ({{lang|sa|[[wikt:नागरी|नागरी]]}}). {{IAST|Nāgarī}} is an adjective derived from {{IAST|nagara}} ({{lang|sa|[[wikt:नगर|नगर]]}}), a Sanskrit word meaning "town" or "city", and literally means "urban" or "urbane".<ref>{{MWSD|nagara|page=525}}</ref> The word {{IAST|Nāgarī}} (implicitly modifying {{IAST|lipi}}, "script") was used on its own to refer to a North Indian script, or perhaps a number of such scripts, as Al-Biruni attests in the 11th century; the form {{IAST|Devanāgarī}} is attested later, at least by the 18th century.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Maurer |first=Walter H. |date=1976 |title=On the Name Devanāgarī |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/599893 |url-status=live |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=96 |issue=1 |pages=101–104 |doi=10.2307/599893 |issn=0003-0279 |jstor=599893 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522070843/https://www.jstor.org/stable/599893 |archive-date=22 May 2021 |access-date=22 May 2021|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The name of the [[Nandinagari|Nandināgarī]] script is also formed by adding a prefix to the generic script name {{IAST|nāgarī}}. The precise origin and significance of the prefix {{IAST|deva}} remains unclear.