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dehi
da
masc instr pl of da (adj); nt instr pl of da (adj); masc abl pl of da (adj); nt abl pl of da (adj); …
- da (letter): (gram) letter d; 26th letter of the alphabet; dental consonant
- da (adj): giving; offering; bestowing
- dā (root): (gram) √dā (give)
- deti (pr): gives; donates; offers; hands (to)
- deti (pr): allows; permits (to); accepts; lit. gives
- dehī (masc): creature; being; lit. having a body
- deti (pr): sets on fire; sets alight (to); lit. gives
- deti (pr): (of work) assigns; puts in charge of; lit. gives
- …
Built from
- de — root · body
From √dhē 'to place, put', imaging the body as something placed or put. Cognate with Sanskrit deha and Old English tho 'though' (the body as a thing that stands).
- hī — ending · having, possessing
A possessive suffix creating agent nouns; dehī literally means 'one who has a body'. Common in Pali compounds to denote possession or quality.
Etymology. de (body, from √dhē 'to place, put') + hī (possessive suffix, 'having'). The word's concrete image is 'one in whom a body is placed/situated'. Sanskrit dehe, Greek theke (a case or container). The body (de) is imagined as a container in which the person dwells, expressing the Buddhist insight that the body is a temporary vessel for consciousness.