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cavati

pr 3rd sg of cavati (verb)

1. moves; shifts; falls away (from)
2. passes away; dies

Built from

• cav — root · move, shift, fall
  The root √cav- carries the image of swaying or giving way. Related to Sanskrit √cyav- and ultimately to Proto-Indo-European *keu̯- (shake, sway), which appears in English quaver.
• a — ending · 3rd sg present
  The thematic vowel -a marks present tense. The personal ending is zero, leaving -ati as the standard 3rd sg active present.

Etymology. Root √cav-, related to Sanskrit √cyav- (shift, fall, waver). The sense of movement and collapse suggests Proto-Indo-European *keu̯- (to shake, sway). English cognate: quaver (through Old French, ultimately from the same root via Latin); Sanskrit cyavate means the same. The root's image is of something trembling or giving way — hence both motion and the final collapse into death.

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

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