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pāsaṁsataro

pāsaṁsa

comparative form pāsaṁsataro (m./n. nom. sg.) — note: the surface form appears to be a scribal or metrical contraction; resolves to pāsaṁsa + taro

1. more praiseworthy
2. more commendable
3. more worthy of approval

Built from

• pa — prefix · forth, forward
  Directs the action outward; here makes the praise public or emphatic.
• śaṁs — root · recite, praise
  Originally 'pronounce aloud'; cognate with Sanskrit śaṁsati. The concrete sense of speaking forth becomes endorsement.
• taro — ending · more (comparative)
  The suffix -taro marks the comparative degree, comparing two entities or degrees.

Analysis. pāsaṁsa (praise, approval) + taro (comparative suffix -tara). The base pāsaṁsa is itself a past participle of pāsansati (to praise, approve), from pa + √śaṁs (to recite, praise).

Etymology. pa + √śaṁs. The root śaṁs (recite, pronounce) appears in Sanskrit śaṁsati. The prefix pa- (forward, forth) intensifies the root's sense of vocally proclaiming or endorsing. The comparative -taro derives from Indo-European *-tero-, related to English -ther and Latin -tor.

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

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