‹ Back to the text

gahapati

masc nom sg of gahapati (noun); masc voc sg of gahapati (noun)

1. householder; landowner; lit. house master

Built from

• gaha — root · house
  From *gʰedʰ-, denoting an enclosed, held space. Cognates: English guest (one received into a house), Latin hospes (guest, host from the idea of receiving into one's domus).
• pati — root · master, lord
  From *peh₂- (to feed, protect, nourish). Cognates: English father, Latin pater, Sanskrit pati. The master is protector and provider of the household.

Analysis. gaha (house) + pati (master, lord); a householder is the master of a domestic establishment, frequently addressed in the suttas as a representative of lay society.

Etymology. gaha from Indo-European *gʰedʰ- (to hold, enclose; also the root of English guest, Latin hospes); pati from Indo-European *peh₂- (to feed, protect; also the root of English father, Latin pater). The compound follows a common Pali pattern of hierarchical relationships: master + domain.

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

Lite mode — plain HTML for e-readers and old browsers. Full version