‹ Back to the text

antarākathā

fem nom sg of antarākathā (noun); fem nom pl of antarākathā (noun); fem acc pl of antarākathā (noun); fem instr sg of antarākathā (noun); …

1. conversation; discussion; lit. in-between talk

Built from

• antar — prefix · within, between
  Expresses the spatial sense of being in the midst or intermediate space. Related to Sanskrit antar and Latin inter.
• ā — prefix · toward, up to
  Reverses motion verbs and suggests approach or extension toward the speaker or parties involved. Concrete sense 'reaching' underlies the abstract meaning here.
• kath — root · speak, tell
  The root of speech and narration. No certain Indo-European cognate, though Sanskrit kath- appears in kathā.
• ā — ending · feminine nominative
  Feminine -ā ending marks the nominative singular. Agrees with the feminine noun kathā (speech, talk).

Analysis. antar-ā-kathā: antar (within, between) + ā (toward, up to) + kathā (speech, talk). The prefix antar locates the talk as occurring in the space between parties; ā suggests the talk extends toward or reaches them.

Etymology. antar from Indo-European *enter- (between; Sanskrit antar, Latin inter, English inter-); kathā from √kath (to speak, tell; Sanskrit kath-, Greek katharos in the sense of 'making clear'). The compound is native Pali, not a loanword.

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

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