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paṭhamena

paṭhama

masc instr sg of paṭhama (ordin); nt instr sg of paṭhama (ordin); masc instr sg of paṭhama (adj); nt instr sg of paṭhama (adj); …

1. first (1st); prime; lit. more forward
2. (gram) 3rd (person); he; she; it; they; lit. more forward
3. (gram) first consonant of each vagga; k, c, ṭ, t, p; lit. more forward

Built from

• paṭ — prefix · forward, forth
  Spatial prefix indicating forward direction; here it signals precedence and priority. Related to Sanskrit pra- and Indo-European *per- 'forward, through'.
• hama — ending · superlative suffix
  The -tama/-hama superlative marker (from -tara comparative) creates the ordinal sense 'most forward', hence 'first'. This instrumental form makes paṭhama agree with a noun's case and number to modify it.

Etymology. paṭ-hama is from paṭ- 'forward' (related to Sanskrit pra- 'forth') + comparative suffix -tama (superlative), hence literally 'most forward'. Cognate with Sanskrit prathama 'first'. The prefix paṭ- preserves the concrete spatial sense of forward motion that yields the abstract ranking 'first'.

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

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