‹ Back to the text

sāraṇīyā

sāraṇīya

masc nom pl of sāraṇīya (ptp); fem nom sg of sāraṇīya (ptp); fem nom pl of sāraṇīya (ptp); nt nom pl of sāraṇīya (ptp); …

1. polite; pleasant; charming; (comm) fit to be remembered; lit. to be desired
2. worth remembering; should not be forgotten; lit. to be remembered

Built from

• sār — root · go, flow, move
  From √sṛ; the idea of smooth, flowing motion becomes 'pleasant, charming' — that which draws one toward it.
• aṇīya — ending · fit to be, worthy of
  Suffix forming adjectives with the sense 'fit for, capable of, worthy of'; common in both Pali and Sanskrit (-aṇīya, -anya).

Etymology. From √sṛ 'to go, flow' (with suffix -aṇīya forming agent/instrumental adjectives). The root appears in Sanskrit sṛ and is cognate with English 'serene' (via Latin serenus) and German 'schwarz' (originally 'that which flows'); the notion of 'worth going toward' underlies 'desirable, pleasant'.

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

Lite mode — plain HTML for e-readers and old browsers. Full version