Editing Sikhism (section)

==Terminology==
The majority of Sikh scriptures were originally written in the alphabet of [[Gurmukhi|''Gurmukhī'']], a script standardised by [[Guru Angad]] out of [[Laṇḍā scripts]] historically used in present-day Pakistan and [[North India]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |title=Gurmukhi |last=Bahri |first=Hardev |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |access-date=9 April 2016 |archive-date=29 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729230458/http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ShackleMandair2013pxxi">{{cite book |last1=Shackle |first1=Christopher |last2=Mandair |first2=Arvind |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VvoJV8mw0LwC |title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, England |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-136-45101-0 |pages=xxi–xxiii |access-date=16 May 2016 |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308155950/https://books.google.com/books?id=VvoJV8mw0LwC |url-status=live }}</ref> Adherents of Sikhism are known as ''[[Sikhs]]'', meaning "students" or "disciples" of the guru. The [[English language|English]] word ''Sikhism'' derives from the Punjabi word for the religion ''Sikhi'' ({{langx|pa|ਸਿੱਖੀ}} ''{{IAST|Sikkhī}}'', {{IPA|pa|ˈsɪk.kʰiː||Sikkhi.ogg}}, from {{langx|pa|ਸਿੱਖ|lit=disciple|translit=[[Sikh]]}}),<ref group="lower-roman">''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes from the [[Sanskrit]] root ''{{IAST|[[śiṣya]]}}'' meaning "disciple", or ''{{IAST|śikṣa}}'' meaning "instruction". [[Khushwant Singh|Singh, Khushwant]]. 2006. ''The Illustrated History of the Sikhs''. [[Oxford University Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0-19-567747-8}}. p. 15.Kosh, Gur Shabad Ratnakar Mahan. https://web.archive.org/web/20050318143533/http://www.ik13.com/online_library.htm</ref> which connotes the "temporal path of learning" and is rooted in the verb {{transliteration|pa|sikhana}} ({{Literal translation|to learn}}).<ref name="Mandair2013p12">{{cite book |last=Mandair |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-4411-0231-7 |pages=3, 12–13 |access-date=16 May 2016 |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308160619/https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Chahal |first=Devinder |title=Understanding Sikhism in the Science Age |journal=Understanding Sikhism: The Research Journal |date=July–December 2006 |issue=2 |page=3 |url=http://www.iuscanada.com/journal/archives/2005/j0702p03.pdf |access-date=10 November 2013 |archive-date=10 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110091458/http://www.iuscanada.com/journal/archives/2005/j0702p03.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Some Sikhs oppose the exonym term ''Sikhism'' as they claim the word was coined [[British Raj|by the British colonists]] rather than by Sikhs themselves, and they instead prefer the endonym ''Sikhi''. They argue that an "-ism" connotes a fixed and immutable worldview which is not congruent with the internally fluid nature of the Sikh philosophy.<ref name="Mandair2013p4">{{cite book |last=Mandair |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ |title=Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-4411-0231-7 |pages=4–7 |access-date=16 May 2016 |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308160619/https://books.google.com/books?id=vdhLAQAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>