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sīsacchavi

fem nom sg of sīsacchavi (noun); fem voc sg of sīsacchavi (noun)

1. skin of the head

Built from

• sīsa — root · head
  From Indo-European *ker- (head, horn). Cognate with Greek kephalē and Latin caput. The concrete sense is the prominent upper part of the body.
• chavi — root · skin, hide
  Cognate with Sanskrit chavi. Refers to the outer covering or integument; the image is of the membrane or layer that encloses.

Analysis. sīsa + chavi: sīsa 'head' + chavi 'skin', a compound denoting the skin covering the head.

Etymology. sīsa is cognate with Sanskrit śīrṣa and ultimately Indo-European *ker- 'head' (Greek κεφαλή kephalē, Latin caput, English horn from the same root meaning protruding head); chavi 'skin, hide' is cognate with Sanskrit chavi and likely connected to a root meaning 'to cover' or 'to split off (the outer layer)'.

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

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