‹ Back to the text

ānisadaṁ

ānisada

accusative singular masculine of ānisada, or nominative/accusative singular neuter (depending on declension); an adverbial form meaning 'without sitting, in a standing position'

1. standing (without sitting)
2. in a standing position

Built from

• ā — prefix · toward, reverse
  Reverses or negates the action of the verb that follows, here creating a state opposed to sitting.
• ni — prefix · down, into
  Directional prefix indicating placement downward or into a position; here part of the compound ni-sad 'to sit down'.
• sad — root · sit
  PIE *sed-, cognate with English 'sit', Latin 'sedere', Sanskrit 'sad'. The root sense of settling or being placed in a location.
• a — ending · nominative/accusative neuter singular or masculine accusative singular
  Nominal ending marking case and number; allows the verbal compound to function as an adjectival or adverbial form.

Analysis. ā-nisada: ā (toward, reversing motion) + ni-sad (sit down). The prefix ā- reverses the sense of ni-sad (to sit down into a place), yielding the sense of the reverse state or condition — standing rather than being seated. The form ānisada is used adverbially or as a predicate adjective.

Etymology. From ā- (reversal, toward the speaker) + ni- (down, into) + √sad (sit, from PIE *sed-, seen in English 'sit', Latin 'sedere', Sanskrit 'sad'). The prefix ni- + √sad literally means 'to sit down'; ā- negates or reverses this state, giving the sense of not being seated, standing.

Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.

Lite mode — plain HTML for e-readers and old browsers. Full version