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antarena

antara

masc instr sg of antara (prep); nt instr sg of antara (prep); nt instr sg of antara (noun)

1. antara (adj): inside; inner; internal; within
2. antara (nt): space between; interval; distance
3. antara (nt): occasion; opportunity
4. antara (nt): difference; distinction
5. antarena (ind): in-between

Built from

• anta — root · end, boundary
  Related to Latin ante 'before', English end. The concrete sense is the termination or edge of something.
• ra — ending · relational suffix
  Forms adjectives and nouns with relational or comparative force, here meaning 'pertaining to the boundary/interval'.
• ena — ending · instrumental singular
  The instrumental case ending marks the means or agent; here the instrumental 'by the interval' becomes the preposition 'without, in-between'.

Analysis. antara is formed from the prefix anta- (end, boundary) with the suffix -ra (comparative/relational suffix). The instrumental form antarena functions as an indeclinable preposition meaning 'in-between' or 'without', often used to indicate separation or absence: e.g. tassa antarena 'without him, in his absence'.

Etymology. From anta- 'end, boundary, limit' (cognate with Sanskrit anta-, Latin ante 'before', English end) plus -ra (relational suffix). The root imagery is of the space at the boundary or margin, hence the interval or gap between things. The preposition use develops from the instrumental sense 'by means of the interval/absence'.

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

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