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purakkhatvā

absolutive of purakkharoti

1. having put in front; having given priority (to)
2. having paid respect (to); having honoured; lit. having put in front
3. in front; ahead of; with (somebody) in front; lit. having made in front

Built from

• pur- — prefix · front, ahead
  From pura, meaning physical positioning in front; extended to temporal priority and social precedence (honouring).
• akkha — stem · placed, made
  Comparative or action stem, possibly from √kṛ 'to make, place', or a variant formation; gives the sense of 'put/placed in front'.
• -tvā — ending · absolutive
  Marks a completed action in a supporting or narrative role, here 'having put in front' or 'having given priority'.

Analysis. pur- + -akkha- + -tvā: 'pura' (front, ahead) + comparative/superlative stem in -akkha- + absolutive ending -tvā. The word means 'having placed/put in front', hence 'having prioritized' or 'having shown respect by placing first'; from the root √kṛ (make, place).

Etymology. From pura (front, ahead; related to Sanskrit pūrva 'former, eastern', Greek peri 'around', and Latin prior 'former, first') + -akkha- (comparative formation, perhaps related to √akṣ 'see, perceive', giving the sense of 'facing, prominent') + absolutive -tvā. The prefix sense 'before, in front' underlies the meanings 'priority' and 'honour'.

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

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