The 'non-Aryas' designated primarily those who were not able to speak
the āryā language correctly,
the Mleccha or Mṛdhravāc. [53] However, āryā is used only once in
the Vedas to designate the language of the texts, the Vedic area being
defined in the Kauṣītaki Āraṇyaka as that where the āryā vāc ('Ārya
speech') is spoken.[54] Some 35 names of Vedic tribes, chiefs and poets
mentioned in the Rigveda were of 'non-Aryan' origin, demonstrating
that cultural assimilation to the ā́rya community was possible, and/or
that some 'Aryan' families chose to give 'non-Aryan' names to their
newborns.[55][56][57] In the words of Indologist Michael Witzel, the
term ārya "does not mean a particular people or even a particular
'racial' group but all those who had joined the tribes speaking Vedic
Sanskrit and adhering to their cultural norms (such as ritual, poetry,
etc.)".[58]
In later Indian texts and Buddhist sources, ā́rya took the meaning of
'noble', such as in the terms Āryadésa - ('noble land') for India, Ārya-
bhāṣā - ('noble language') for Sanskrit, or āryaka - ('honoured man'),
which gave the Pali ayyaka - ('grandfather').[59] The term came to
incorporate the idea of a high social status, but was also used as an
honorific for the Brahmana or the Buddhist monks. Parallelly, the
Mleccha acquired additional meanings that referred to people of lower
castes or aliens.[53]
Ancient Iran
In the words of scholar Gherardo Gnoli, the Old Iranian airya (Avestan)
and ariya (Old Persian) were collective terms denoting the "peoples
who were aware of belonging to the one ethnic stock, speaking a
common language, and having a religious tradition that centred on the
cult of Ahura Mazdā", in contrast to the 'non-Aryas', who are