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daṇḍasamphassāpi

daṇḍasamphassa

nominative singular masculine + api (emphatic/inclusive particle)

1. beating with a stick; blows with a cane; lit. touch of the stick

Built from

• daṇḍa — root · stick, rod
  A noun denoting a stick or staff used as an instrument of striking. Concrete spatial sense: something rigid that protrudes and strikes.
• saṁ — prefix · together, with
  Brings elements into contact or union. Here it intensifies phassa (contact) to mean the impact or blow itself.
• phassa — stem · contact, touching
  Derived from √spaś 'to touch'; denotes physical contact or impact. In compounds, it shifts from mere touching to forceful contact or blows.
• api — ending · even, also, too
  Emphatic particle that includes or emphasizes the preceding noun; often used in enumerations of suffering or hardship in doctrinal texts. Marks nominative case with masculine agreement.

Analysis. daṇḍa (stick, rod) + samphassa (contact, touching); samphassa from sam (together) + phassa (contact). The compound daṇḍasamphassa denotes contact or blows delivered by a stick. The particle api adds emphasis or inclusivity: 'even blows with a stick', often used in doctrinal contexts to enumerate forms of suffering or harm.

Etymology. daṇḍa: from Indo-European root *dend- (to strike); related to Latin dentis 'tooth' in the sense of protruding/striking. samphassa: sam- (together, bringing into contact) + phassa (contact, from √spaś 'touch'), cognate with Latin tangere and English 'tangent'. The sense is physical contact or impact brought together by an instrument.

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

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