masc loc pl of dhamma (noun); masc loc pl of dhamma (adj); nt loc pl of dhamma (adj); nt loc pl of dhamma (noun)
Etymology. From Indo-European *dhē- 'to place, put, set' (cognate with Sanskrit dhárma, Greek thésis 'position', Latin facio 'I make, do', English do, German tun). The root sense 'what is placed or established' evolved to 'law, norm, duty' in Vedic Sanskrit, and in Pali generalized across all meanings: the teachings of the Buddha are what he 'has set forth'; mental phenomena are the 'constituents' of experience; virtue is the 'practice that is established'. The word entered Christianity through Greek théma and Latin dogma.
Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.
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