I just found out a Sanskrit word for mother-in-law is

The Watercooler
1

sādhudevī, a holy angel.

This is a shout out to all the mothers-in-law out there: you get a bad rap a lot of the time, but at least someone appreciates you. :dancer:

13 Likes
2

Would that be the husband’s mother-in-law, or the wife’s? If the husband’s, is the wife’s word something quite different? :slight_smile:

3

I dunno, that’s all the dictionary said.

4

must be the husband’s, as far as i’m aware wife’s mother, or parents for that matter, traditonally aren’t important in marital relationships because it’s a wife who goes to live with the in-laws, and so wife’s parents’ may not even have special designation within the Indian system of kinship

5

Mother-in-law is rarely if ever called a sādhudevī in Sanskrit. The usual word is śvaśrū (the Pali form of the word is sassū). Father-in-law is śvaśura (Pali: sasura). The same words are used for the in-laws of both sides.

Kinship terms in Sanskrit (in Devanāgarī script):

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