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kulā

kula

nt nom pl of kula (noun); nt instr sg of kula (noun); nt abl sg of kula (noun); nt voc sg of kula (noun); …

1. family; house; household; respectable family
2. supporter; supporting family; lit. family
3. species; type; genus; lit. family
4. name of an arahant monk; lit. family
5. belonging to a family; born in a household; lit. family

Etymology. A common Indo-European root *kwel- 'to turn, move around' (English wheel, Sanskrit cakra 'circle'), extended in the sense of a social unit bound together. The noun is cognate with Sanskrit kula, Greek koilon 'hollow, family group'. The concrete image is of people gathered in one place, turning around a shared center.

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

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