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hatthipadaṁ
hatthapadaṁ
accusative singular neuter of hatthipada (compound noun; also nominative/accusative in neuter nom. sg. -aṁ ending)
- elephant's footprint
- elephant track
- figuratively: sign, trace, or foundation (like footprints marking a path)
Built from
- hatthi — root · elephant
From Sanskrit hastin-, the -in suffix marks 'the one with the hand-like trunk'. Compare English words via Sanskrit's influence on Pali.
- pada — root · foot, footprint, step
Sanskrit padā. Indo-European cognate: Latin pēs, English foot. The concrete image of a track or footprint underlies abstract meanings like 'position, standpoint, state'.
- aṁ — ending · accusative singular neuter
Marks the object of a transitive verb or a neuter nominative/accusative in isolation. Here the compound noun takes the neuter singular ending -aṁ.
Analysis. hatthi 'elephant' + pada 'foot, footprint, step' — a compound denoting the footprint of an elephant, used literally in narrative and metaphorically to represent a sign or basis from which understanding unfolds.