Definition
A deep feeling of love and affection for someone or something.
Example
माँ का अपने बच्चों से बहुत प्यार होता है।
Show translation
A mother has a lot of love for her children.
Etymology
From Sanskrit **प्रिय** (*priya*, "dear, beloved"), via Prakrit and Apabhraṃśa forms. The root *pri-* (to please, to love) is shared with other Indo-Aryan languages — compare Punjabi *pyār* and Urdu پیار, which are identical in form and meaning. The modern Hindi word emerged through contraction and vowel shift during the Middle Indo-Aryan period.
Cultural note
प्यार is among the most emotionally loaded words in Hindi and is used across an enormous range of relationships — romantic partners, parents and children, friends, and even one's homeland (*देश से प्यार*, love of country). It appears constantly in Bollywood song titles and lyrics, making it a word virtually every learner will encounter immediately. Note that Urdu speakers use the same word (پیار), so it bridges both literary traditions seamlessly.