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dhammadesanāya

dhammadesanā

fem instr sg of dhammadesanā (noun); fem dat sg of dhammadesanā (noun); fem abl sg of dhammadesanā (noun); fem gen sg of dhammadesanā (noun); …

1. Dhamma talk; teaching the Dhamma

Built from

• dhamma — root · teaching, law
  From Sanskrit dharma, meaning what upholds or sustains; cognate with English "firm" and Greek thronos through IE *dher- "hold, support". In Pali it denotes the Buddha's teaching and cosmic law.
• desanā — stem · exposition, discourse
  Derived from √dis- "point, show, indicate" (Sanskrit diś-, Latin dicere). The feminine agent-noun suffix -anā (-nā) forms the abstract noun "the act of pointing out".

Analysis. dhamma + desanā: dhamma (the teaching, cosmic law) + desanā (exposition, from √dis- "point out"), hence "pointing-out of the teaching" or doctrinal exposition.

Etymology. Dhamma from Sanskrit dharma (that which upholds, law, duty); English "firm", Greek thronos (established seat) distantly cognate through Indo-European *dher- "hold, support". Desanā from √dis- "point, show" (related to Sanskrit diś-, Latin dicere "say"); the suffix -anā nominalizes the action.

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

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