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brāhmaṇagahapatikā

masc nom pl of brāhmaṇagahapatikā (noun); masc voc pl of brāhmaṇagahapatikā (noun)

1. Brahmans and householders

Built from

• brāhmaṇa — root · Brahman
  Member of the priestly class; from Sanskrit brahman 'sacred utterance', the Vedic term for ritual knowledge and cosmic power.
• gaha — root · house
  Household; related to √gah 'to sit, dwell', ultimately from PIE *gʰedʰ- 'to settle, contain'.
• pati — root · master, lord
  From √pā 'to protect, guard'; cognate with Latin pater 'father' and English father (PIE *pəter-).
• ikā — ending · feminine collective
  The -ī feminine ending with -ka suffix marks a collectivizing plural, making gahapatikā 'householders' (collective feminine treated as masculine plural in address).

Analysis. Compound: brāhmaṇa (Brahman, member of the priestly class) + gahapatikā (householders, from gahapati). A dvandva compound uniting two social classes frequently addressed together in the canon.

Etymology. brāhmaṇa from Sanskrit brāhmaṇa, from Vedic brahman 'sacred utterance'; gahapati from gaha 'house' (cognate with Greek khiton 'tunic' via PIE *gʰedʰ- 'to contain, settle') + pati 'master, lord' (from √pā 'to protect', cognate with Latin pater, English father).

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

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