Prakrit languages are related to Sanskrit but differ from it in many ways. When the Prakrit languages were formalised by literary use, their variations from the conventional Vedic language came to be known as

The literary variations of the Prakrit languages from conventional Vedic speech came to be called Apabhramsha.

Pali was the language of the Theravada Buddhist canon, not this later stage.

Persian was a court language introduced far later under Islamic rule.

Hindi and other modern languages evolved out of Apabhramsha at a still later stage.

Apabhramsha served as a bridge between the Prakrits and the modern North Indian languages.

The term literally means 'falling away' or 'corruption' from the standard form.