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parisaṁ

parisa

accusative singular of parisa (m.)

1. assembly
2. gathering
3. community (especially of monks or laypeople)

Built from

• pari — prefix · around, completely
  Expresses the idea of going all the way round; things brought into a complete whole. Greek peri- (perimeter) is cognate.
• isa — stem · sitting, being
  From √as (to sit, be). The stem embeds the image of people seated together.

Analysis. Compound: pari- (around, all the way round) + isa (from √as, to sit). The concrete image is of people seated all around—a complete gathering.

Etymology. pari- (around) + root √as (to sit, be). The prefix pari- conveys completeness and encirclement; the root √as (cognate with English 'is', German 'ist') yields 'sitting/being together'. The word captures the Buddhist saṅgha's essential nature: a fully assembled community.

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

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