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sīlesu
sīla
nt loc pl of sīla (noun); masc loc pl of sīla (adj); nt loc pl of sīla (adj)
- ethical conduct; ethics; virtue; moral integrity
- behaviour; habit
- with a kind of conduct; with a certain behaviour; having a habit
- custom; rite; ritual
- precept; rule; training rule
Built from
- sīl — root · to sit, settle, dwell
The concrete image of settling into a place underlies ethical conduct as the habitual dwelling-place of action. Sanskrit śī, Proto-Indo-European *sed- (sit, settle); cognates: English settle, German Sitte (custom), Latin sedeō (sit).
- a — ending · neuter nominative stem
Forms the citation stem; -a marks neuter nouns in nominative and accusative singular throughout the paradigm.
- su — ending · locative plural
The locative plural ending -su indicates 'in' or 'among' (the virtues, the ethical precepts), used here in locative contexts such as instructions to dwell 'in' or 'among' the precepts.
Etymology. Root √śī (sit, dwell) in Sanskrit; the sense develops from 'customary dwelling-place' to 'established conduct' and 'ethical habit'. Related to English 'settle' and German 'Sitte' (custom), both from Proto-Indo-European *sed- 'sit, settle'. The word embodies the Buddhist principle that virtue is not imposed law but internalized habit — the place where the mind dwells.