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madāya

mada

masc dat sg of mada (noun)

1. mada (masc): excess; pleasure; indulgence
2. mada (masc): vanity; pride; conceit; lit. intoxication
3. mada (masc): intoxication; poisoning
4. madāya (masc): for intoxication; for indulgence; (comm) for strength

Built from

• mad — root · be drunk; revel
  The root carries the image of liquid flowing, overflow, losing control. Cognate with Latin madēre 'to be wet' and English 'mad' (historically 'wetted, intoxicated, senseless').
• a — ending · masc nom sg
  Masculine singular nominalizing suffix; -aya in the dative marks the instrumental-purposive sense 'for, on account of'.

Etymology. Root √mad 'to be drunk, revel'; related to Sanskrit mada- and Latin madēre 'to be wet, damp' (originally 'to flow with liquid'). The semantic shift from liquid overflow to intoxication and mental confusion is ancient. Compare English 'mad' (originally 'made' in sense of 'soaked, wet'; later 'intoxicated' and 'senseless'). The concrete image: liquids that flow uncontrollably, like wine or the mind in confusion.

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

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