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dhātu
dhātar
masc dat sg of dhātar (noun); masc gen sg of dhātar (noun); fem nom sg of dhātu (noun); fem voc sg of dhātu (noun); …
- dhātar (masc): humour of the body, faculty of senses
- dhātu (fem): state; property; condition; element
- dhātu (fem): state of being; realm of existence
- dhātu (fem): (of the Buddha or arahant) relic
- dhātu (fem): fact; state (of)
- dhātu (fem): (gram) verbal root
- dhātu (fem): metal ore
- dhātu (fem): one of the eighteen components of perceptual experience, corresponding to the six sense organs, their associated external field and corresponding consciousness
- …
Built from
- dhā — root · to place, put, set
The root *dheh₂- appears across Indo-European languages. In Pali, dhāti 'he places' shows the present stem; dhātu captures the 'placed thing' or 'placed state', the underlying nature or element of something.
- tu — ending · agent noun suffix (fem.)
Forms a feminine noun of action or result. This suffix derives abstract nouns from verb roots, turning 'placing' into 'placement' or 'that which is placed', hence 'element' or 'state'.
Etymology. From Indo-European *dheh₂- 'to place, put, set' (English do, Sanskrit dhā-). The noun dhātu literally denotes 'what is placed' or 'placed thing', hence 'constituent element' or 'state'. Cognate with Sanskrit dhātu, Greek thesis 'a placing', Latin facio 'I do'.