köken: Inherited from Prakrit 𑀳𑁄𑀮𑀺𑀬𑀸 (holiyā), from Sanskrit होली (holī), from Proto-Indo-Aryan *źʰawlaH, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ȷ́ʰaw-, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰew- (“to pour”). Cognate to Punjabi ਹੋੱਲੀ (hollī), Nepali होलि (holi), Bengali হোলি (hōli), Hindi होली (holī), and Marathi होळी (hoḷī).
köken: From Proto-Indo-Aryan *źʰawlaH, of uncertain origin. Mayrhofer considers this as possibly an onomatopoeic exclamation. He also raises the possibility, via the alternative form होलाका (holākā), of a relation to होलक (holaka, “half-ripe pulse cooked over a light fire”), with the original meaning presumably being "a special type of sweating over hot cow-dung ash". Others derive the term further from…