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medhagā

medhaga

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

1. argument; dispute; differences

Built from

• medha — root · wisdom, counsel
  From √meh or related to medha in Sanskrit, denoting intellectual acuity and deliberative wisdom. Cognate with English 'mead' (archaic for reward or share) and Greek μέδεα (counsel, plans).
• ga — root · going, moving
  From √gam 'go, move'. Here functioning as an agent noun, 'that which goes', hence a 'going' or 'motion', giving the compound the sense of discourse or dispute as a back-and-forth movement.

Analysis. medha (wisdom, counsel) + ga (going, moving) — a 'going of counsel', hence a contested point or dispute moving between speakers.

Etymology. From medha (Skt. medha, 'wisdom, counsel'; cognate with English 'mead' in its obsolete sense of 'reward', Gk. μέδεα 'counsel') + ga (root √gam 'go'). The compound's underlying sense is movement or motion of counsel in debate.

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

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