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paripanthepi

paripantha

masculine nominative singular (paripanthaṁ) in sandhi with api "even, also"

1. paripantha (masc): obstacle (to); obstruction (to); blockage (for); lit. near the road; around the road
2. paripantha (masc): ambush; roadblock; lit. near the road; around the road
3. paripantha (masc): way around; path to
4. paripanthi (masc): hindrance; blockage; obstruction

Built from

• pari — prefix · around, all the way
  Spatial: things going all the way round. Yields completeness or obstruction in compounds (pariññā "full knowledge", paripantha "blockage all around").
• pantha — root · path, road
  From *pent- (Indo-European); cognate Sanskrit panthā, Greek pontos. The concrete image of a path or passage.
• a — ending · masculine nominative singular marker
  Pali masculine nominative-accusative ending -a; nominalizes the compound into an agent or object noun.
• e — ending · locative singular
  Locative case suffix -e; marks place or occasion, here "at the obstacle".
• pi — ending · enclitic even, also
  Postpositional particle (derived from api) attached in sandhi, adding emphasis: "even at the very obstacle".

Analysis. paripanthe (loc. sg. of paripantha) + api (enclitic "even, also"): "even at/near the obstacle"; the locative signals proximity or occasion, yielding an adverbial phrase. paripantha itself breaks as pari- (around) + pantha (path, road), lit. "around-path", hence a road or place blocking passage.

Etymology. pari- (around, all-way round; see peri-meter) + pantha (path, road; cognate with Sanskrit panthā, Greek pontos "passage", English find via *pent- "path"); the image is a path that circles or blocks: an obstruction placed athwart the way, or a detour round an obstacle. The prefix pari- conveys the sense of obstruction wrapping or surrounding the traveller.

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

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