As a deity name
Name 729 of the Ganesha Sahasranāma — Ganesha Purana (Upasana Khanda), as taught by Sage Vyasa / Lord Ganesha
Name 212 of the Hanuman Sahasranāma — Rasvin Samhita / Brahmanda Purana, as taught by Lord Ram / Sages
Name 126 of the Narasimha Sahasranāma — Brahmanda Purana / Narasimha Purana, as taught by Sages to Assembly of Devotees
Name 429 of the Rama Sahasranāma — Padma Purana / Skanda Purana, as taught by Lord Shiva to Goddess Parvati
As a Hindi name
काल · noun · masculine
समय । वक्त । वह संबंधसत्ता जिसके द्वारा, भूत, भविष्य, वर्तमान आदि की प्रतीति होती है और एक घटना दूसरी से आगे, पीछे आदि समझी जाती है · अंतिम काल । नाश का समय । अंत । मृत्यु · यमराज । यमदुत — Śabdasāgara
काल · adj
काला । काले रंग का — Śabdasāgara
काल · kāla · s.m.
Time; (in Gram.) tense; season; age — Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago, p. 803
काल · kāl · s.m.
Bad or inauspicious time; dearth, famine; calamity — Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago, p. 803
काल · masculine
time (as a concept); era, epoch, age, period; death (personified as Yama); tense
काल · masculine
famine; bad times
a Hindi word, a tatsama: the Sanskrit word borrowed unchanged into Hindi काल#Etymology_2_2 — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
“Borrowed from Sanskrit काल (kālá).” — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
a Hindi word, a tadbhava: evolved from the Sanskrit through Prakrit अकाल — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
“Inherited from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀅𑀕𑀸𑀮 (agāla), from Sanskrit अकाल (akāla, “bad time”).” — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
a-kāla m. a wrong or bad time
(also) night, ib.
As a Sanskrit word
Meaning
(fr. √ 3. kal?), black, of a dark colour, dark-blue, &c.
Scripturally attested Verified derivationMultiple readings (11)Why this matches what you typed
M1 · same meaning "kāla" is the vocative of "kālā" — the same word in a different grammatical case.
M3 · meaning shifts "kāla" is derived from "kā" with the lac suffix — a related word whose meaning shifts, so both meanings are shown.
1. kā onomat. imitation of the cry of the ass, BhP. x, 15, 30.
2. kā = 2. kad and 1. ku in comp. to express depreciation, e.g. kākṣa, kā-patha, kāpuruṣa, koṣṇa, qq.vv. Pāṇ. vi, 3, 104; Vop. vi, 93.
1. kāla mf(ī, Pāṇ. iv, 1, 42)n. (fr. √ 3. kal?), black, of a dark colour, dark-blue, MBh.; R. &c.
kāla m. a black or dark-blue colour, L.
Related forms
Dictionary citations
1. kāla mf(ī, Pāṇ. iv, 1, 42)n. (fr. √ 3. kal?), black, of a dark colour, dark-blue, MBh.; R. &c.
kāla m. a black or dark-blue colour, L.
the black part of the eye, Suśr.
the Indian cuckoo, L.
the poisonous serpent Coluber Naga (= kālasarpa), Vet.
kālā f. N. of several plants (Indigofera tinctoria, L.; Piper longum, L.; (perhaps) Ipomoea atropurpurea, Suśr.; Nigella indica, L.; Rubia Munjista, L.; Ruellia longifolia, L.; Physalis flexuosa, L.; Bignonia suaveolens, Bhpr.)
the fruit of the Kālā g. harītaky-ādi
1. kā onomat. imitation of the cry of the ass, BhP. x, 15, 30.
2. kā = 2. kad and 1. ku in comp. to express depreciation, e.g. kākṣa, kā-patha, kāpuruṣa, koṣṇa, qq.vv. Pāṇ. vi, 3, 104; Vop. vi, 93.
Alternative readings
More than one analysis survives full verification. That ambiguity is real, so we show every reading rather than pick one silently.
Caveats
Sources contain errors and engines have limits; every claim above carries its citation so you can verify it. This is guidance about names and their sources — not religious or astrological consultation. How we work · Our sources