# Buddhist/Hindu "Om"/"Aum" same root as Christian/Arabic "Amen"/"Amin"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buddhist-hindu-om-aum-same-root-as-christian-arabic-amen-amin/351255>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 4, 2006, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buddhist-hindu-om-aum-same-root-as-christian-arabic-amen-amin/351255 "2006-04-04T14:39:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![gitfiddle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/898d66/32.png) [@gitfiddle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gitfiddle)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buddhist-hindu-om-aum-same-root-as-christian-arabic-amen-amin/351255/1 "2006-04-04T14:39:42Z")

</div>

In wikipedia’s section on the Buddhist idea of the “Om,” I was very interested in the way it tied in with other religions and regions. For instance, it can be considered, some say, much like the “logos” in John 1:1-4.

One part, however, mentioned that the Om either comes from the same root as the word “Amen” or _is_ the root of that word. I can find other references making that same claim, but I can’t find a reputable source (I looked it up in the OED, but there’s no mention of Om).

Anyone heard this before?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buddhist-hindu-om-aum-same-root-as-christian-arabic-amen-amin/351255/2 "2006-04-04T15:16:34Z")

</div>

From the OED:

Om

> [@](#):
>
> [\< Sanskrit o{mdotab} (later also as om and, before consonants, as o{mdotbl}), sacred syllable and evocation of the infinite, also used as a word of assent. In sense 2 after Sanskrit o{mdotbl}k{amac}ra om syllable (lit. ‘om-making’). Cf. earlier OM MANI PADME HUM n. (and int.).  
> In Vedic Sanskrit, o{mdotab} was a long nasalized vowel, without any following m sound, and as such was thought of as pure, ‘unstruck’ sound, containing all origination and dissolution. It first appears in the Upanishads and is the main subject of one of them, the M{amac}{ndotbl}{ddotbl}{umac}kya Upani{sdotbl}ad, where it is described as encompassing the four states of consciousness. According to later, classical Hindu thought, om is composed of three sounds, a, u, and m, interpreted as representing the three most important gods, Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma, and a fourth element, which is silence.]

Amen:

> [@](#):
>
> [a. L. (or Fr.) {amac}m{emac}n, a. Gr. {alenis}{mu}{ghacu}{nu}, a. Heb. {amac}-m{emac}n, ‘certainty, truth,’ f. vb. {amac}man to strengthen, confirm; used adverbially ‘certainly, verily, surely’ as an expression of affirmation, consent, or ratification of what has been said by another (Deut. xxvii. 26, 1 Kings i. 36); adopted in Gr. by the LXX., whence in N.T., and in early Christian use, in Gr. and L., as a solemn expression of belief, affirmation, consent, concurrence, or ratification, of any formal utterance made by a representative; thus with prayers, imprecations, confessions of faith. App. not so used in OE., but transl. by Só{edh}lice!, Swá hit ys or sý! Added however as a concluding formula to Luke and John in the Ags. Gospels.]

“Om” comes from Sanskrit; “Amen” comes from Hebrew. I don’t believe there’s any direct connection between the languages.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![gitfiddle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/898d66/32.png) [@gitfiddle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gitfiddle)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buddhist-hindu-om-aum-same-root-as-christian-arabic-amen-amin/351255/3 "2006-04-04T15:41:14Z")

</div>

If anything, it’s been [claimed](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anacalypsis) :

> [@](#):
>
> Among the many unusual theories presented in this book is that both the Celtic Druids and the Jews originated in India - and that the name of the Biblical Abraham is really a variation of the word Brahma, created by shifting the last letter to the beginning: Abrahma.