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pacchā

paccha

masc nom pl of paccha (adj); fem nom sg of paccha (adj); fem nom pl of paccha (adj); nt nom pl of paccha (adj); …

1. paccha (adj): behind; after; west
2. pacchā (ind): afterwards; later; in the future
3. pacchā (ind): behind
4. pacchā (ind): western; westward
5. pacchā (ind): backwards

Built from

• pac- — root · arrange, fasten
  The core sense is spatial arrangement; in compounds and with postpositions, it grounds the meanings of sequence and position.
• -cha — ending · postposition marker
  A postposition or relational suffix that attaches pac- to form an adverbial or adjectival form indicating direction, relation, or sequence.

Etymology. Root pac- (to fasten, arrange) + -cha (postposition suffix marking direction or relation). The sense "behind" reflects the root's spatial imagery of things arranged in sequence; "afterwards" derives from the temporal reading of spatial sequence. Related to Sanskrit paścā, paścāt (behind, after); ultimately cognate with Latin post (after) and English past, all from PIE *pos- (after, behind).

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

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