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dhammadesanā

fem nom sg of dhammadesanā (noun); fem nom pl of dhammadesanā (noun); fem acc pl of dhammadesanā (noun); fem instr sg of dhammadesanā (noun); …

1. Dhamma talk; teaching the Dhamma

Built from

• dhamma — root · doctrine, law
  From √dhṛ 'to hold, bear, support': the eternal order that holds together the world. Sanskrit dharma; the same root as English firm, Greek thronos.
• desanā — stem · teaching, exposition
  From √dis 'to show, point out': the concrete image is of pointing or indicating what should be known. Sanskrit deśanā; related to Latin dīcere 'to say' (from older 'to point').
• -ā — ending · feminine nominative
  Marks the feminine nominative singular (and other cases) of abstract nominals in -ā; here nominative in discourse, pointing to the teaching as a named entity or action.

Analysis. dhamma (doctrine, law) + desanā (teaching, exposition); the compound names the verbal act of expounding the Dhamma in the canon.

Etymology. dhamma from √dhṛ 'to hold, bear' (Sanskrit dharma; cognate with Greek thronos 'seat' via 'that which is held firm'), and desanā from √dis 'to show, point' (Sanskrit deśanā; cognate with Latin dīcere via 'pointing out in words').

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

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