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mahāvane

mahāvana

nt acc pl of mahāvana (noun); nt loc sg of mahāvana (noun)

1. name of a forest outside Vesālī; lit. great forest
2. name of a forest outside Kapilavatthu; lit. great forest
3. great forest; large forest

Built from

• mahā — root · great, large
  From √mah 'to grow, increase'. Cognate with Latin magnus and English much. The sense is extension and abundance.
• vana — root · forest, wood
  From √van 'to desire, seek, love'; forests as places sought out. Related to vanati 'desires' and English win (in the sense of gaining ground).

Analysis. mahā (great) + vana (forest); a simple descriptive compound, later used as a proper place-name.

Etymology. mahā from √mah (to grow, increase), cognate with Latin magnus (great) and English much; vana from √van (to desire, to love), hence a place one seeks or loves. Together: the forest one desires, or simply the great/extensive forest.

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

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