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pañcasu

pañca

x loc pl of pañca (card)

1. pañca (card): five (5)
2. pañcasu (card): in five; among five

Built from

• pañca — root · five
  Cardinal numeral from *pénkwe, found in Sanskrit pañca, Greek pénte, Latin quinque, English five, German fünf. The word denotes the number 5 and is used to count objects and in doctrinal contexts (e.g., pañcasīla 'five precepts', pañcaindriyas 'five faculties').
• -su — ending · locative plural
  The suffix -su marks locative plural in Pali, indicating location or distribution among multiple items. Here it means 'in five' or 'among five'.

Etymology. From the Indo-European root *pénkwe "five", which is the ultimate source of Sanskrit pañca, Greek pénte, Latin quinque, and English five. The root reflects the ancient counting system and has cognates across most Indo-European languages. Pali preserves the inherited form with characteristic phonetic changes (the initial p- and the ñ from an earlier velar nasal).

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

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