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kesā

kesa

masc nom pl of kesa (noun); masc instr sg of kesa (noun); masc abl sg of kesa (noun); masc voc sg of kesa (noun); …

  1. (head) hair
  2. (head) hair
  3. (of a horse) with a mane
  4. with hair

Etymology. From Indo-European *kes- 'to comb, card' (cognate with Sanskrit keśa, Greek ξένος xenos 'rough, shaggy', Latin caesaries 'hair'). The root captures the notion of something separated into strands or fibers. In Pali compounds kesa- often denotes the hair of the head as a mark of lay status or ascetic renunciation (e.g., kesaccheda 'cutting the hair', a feature of ordination).

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

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