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āvāso

āvāsa

masc nom sg of āvāsa (noun)

1. home; dwelling place; residence (of); lit. living here
2. sphere of existence; plane of existence; lit. living here

Built from

• ā — prefix · toward, up to
  Marks approach or arrival; here it gives the root √vas concrete spatial sense: a place dwelt-to and inhabited.
• vāsa — stem · dwelling
  Nominal stem from √vas 'to dwell, settle, stay'. The suffix -a forms a masculine noun; cognate with Sanskrit vāsa and English wassail.

Analysis. ā- (toward) + vāsa (dwelling, from √vas 'dwell'), literally 'dwelling-toward' or 'a dwelling-place one approaches or inhabits'.

Etymology. ā- (toward, up to) + √vas (dwell, settle). Root √vas cognate with Latin vastus and English wassail (originally a drinking custom); ā- reverses the motion, turning √vas from abstract dwelling into a concrete place one inhabits or reaches.

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

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