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aṇḍakosaṁ

aṇḍakosa

masculine accusative singular; or neuter accusative singular (aṇḍakosaṁ as nom./acc. of neuter); a compound noun

1. egg-case
2. shell of an egg
3. ovary (in medical/physiological texts)

Built from

• aṇḍa — root · egg
  Derived from the root for 'binding, enclosing'; the concrete image is of something round and enclosed.
• kosa — root · case, sheath
  From √ku 'to cover'; the concrete spatial image of a protective container or covering persists in medical and anatomical use.
• ṁ — ending · accusative
  Marks the direct object or the neuter nominative/accusative singular form in compounds ending in a- or o-stems.

Analysis. aṇḍa (egg) + kosa (case, sheath, covering); kosa derives from √ku 'to cover', cognate with Latin custos 'guard'. The compound denotes the protective casing that holds the egg or reproductive matter.

Etymology. aṇḍa is cognate with Sanskrit aṇḍa (egg), ultimately from an Indo-European root *h₂end- 'to bind, enclose' (related to English end in the sense of boundary). kosa (case, sheath) from √ku (to cover), related to Sanskrit kosha and to the Indo-European root *skeubh- (to cover, shelter; cf. English sky, shed). The spatial sense of covering develops into the abstract notion of a containing vessel.

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

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