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pe

pa

masc acc pl of pa (adj); nt acc pl of pa (adj); masc loc sg of pa (adj); nt loc sg of pa (adj); …

1. pa (adj): drinking; who drinks
2. pa (adj): protecting; guarding
3. pā (root): (gram) √pā (drink)
4. pāti (pr): watches, protects
5. peti (pr): goes; proceeds; advances; lit. goes forward
6. pa (letter): (gram) letter p; 29th letter of the alphabet; labial consonant

Etymology. √pā (drink, protect) is cognate with Latin pōtus (drunk, past participle of pōtāre) and English potable; the root's primary sense is 'to drink' (hence 'to consume'), with a secondary extension to 'to guard' (to keep, preserve). The shift from 'drinking' to 'protecting' reflects the semantic arc common in Indo-European: what you hold in your grasp or mouth you guard.

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

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