‹ Back to the text

mārisa

masc voc sg of mārisa (noun)

1. venerable; sir; lit. like me

Built from

• mā — root · measure, compare
  From √mā meaning to gauge or measure out. Cognate with Latin mēnsūra and Greek μέτρον (metron); the concrete imagery of weighing or comparing underlies the polite form of address.
• ṛ — ending · agent suffix
  Forms agent nouns indicating 'one who does' the action of the root; here, 'one who measures' or 'one worthy of comparison'.
• isa — ending · diminutive suffix
  A softening suffix that adds courtesy and familiarity to the noun, transforming a direct comparison into a respectful, affectionate form of address.

Analysis. mā + ṛ + isa; literally 'like me' or 'measuring up to me', a courteous form of address. The vocative is used as a respectful appellative, especially in dialogue and to teachers or elders.

Etymology. mā is the root of √mā 'to measure, compare', cognate with Latin mēnsūra 'measure' and English 'mete'. The suffix -ṛ forms agent nouns ('one who measures/compares'); -isa is a diminutive suffix that softens the address into a polite form. The phrase 'like me' reflects the Pali courtesy of addressing another as a peer, from which the meaning 'worthy one' or 'sir' developed.

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

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