Dear all,

I wish I knew.  Please keep me copied if anyone knows.  The term is clearly linked to the professionalization of the discipline in the early 19th century (barring an early-bird neologism in the 18th).  This most likely takes us to Germany or France.  The OED notes the first occurrence of "Indology" very late, in 1888, and tellingly, in a Trübner catalog.  The first use I can recall offhand, and then of the related term "Indologen," occurs in a letter Christan Lassen sent A. W. v. Schlegel from Paris on 10 June 1825: "Von den Indologen ist mir nur Herr Burnouf zu Gesicht gekommen," in which he used the term in the flat tones of a well-worn word.  Might we engage in a collective game of "beat that date," and see how far back we might reach?

In a related question, I wonder how accepted Indology/Indologie and related terms are accepted in common parlance in different languages.  In spite of the OED's listing, my spellcheck consistently flags "Indology" and related terms as faulty.  I also recall the concern a British well-wisher expressed at the prospect of a (now published) book going by the title "The Making of Western Indology," since "Indology is not a word."  We explained that it was the name of our discipline, and I remember pointing out that it was also the name of our professional listserv.  Our friend was too polite to insist, but I am afraid that it convinced him right there and then that our book was not intended for the general public!

Best wishes,
Rosane Rocher
Professor Emerita of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania        


On 8/21/14 11:28 AM, Michaels, Axel wrote:
Dear all,
does anybody know when the term "Indology/Indologie" denoting the academic discipline appeared first?
Thanks in advance, Axel Michaels

Prof. Dr. Axel Michaels Acting Director Excellence Cluster "Asia and Europe in a Global Context"  Director Dept. of Classical Indology, South Asia Institute  Director Research Unit "Historical Documents of Nepal" of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities |Contact |Universität Heidelberg, Südasien-Institut | Im Neuenheimer Feld 330, D-69120 Heidelberg |Tel. +49-6221-548917 / Fax +49-6221-546338 | sek-michaels@uni-heidelberg.de (SAI office) Axel.Michaels@urz.uni-heidelberg.de (official and personal) michaels@asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de (Cluster mail) Websites http://www.asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de/de/startseite.html http://www.sai.uni-heidelberg.de/abt/IND/index.php http://www.haw.uni-heidelberg.de/forschung/forschungsstellen/nepal/projekt.de.html




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