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gahanañhetaṁ

gahana

neuter nominative/accusative singular in -aṁ sandhi form (gahanañhetaṁ = gahana + ñ + hetaṁ, contracted from gahanassa hetaṁ 'because of depth')

1. depth
2. density
3. thickness
4. obscurity

Built from

• gah — root · plunge, dive
  The root carries the concrete image of descending into water or a deep place. Related to diving motion and hidden depths.
• -ana — ending · quality, state
  This suffix derives abstract nouns and adjectives from roots, forming 'the state of plunging/being deep'.

Analysis. gahana (dense, deep, thick) + ñ (genitive sandhi connector) + hetaṁ (because of, by reason of) — 'because of depth/obscurity'

Etymology. gahana from √gah (to plunge, dive) with -ana suffix; related to English 'go' and Sanskrit gāḍha 'deep'. The spatial sense of plunging downward became the abstract meaning of depth and obscurity.

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

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