saṁsāro

saṁsāra

masculine noun, nominative singular

cycle of rebirth
wandering through repeated lives
the conditioned world of suffering

Built from

saṁ — prefix · together, completely
The prefix brings multiplicity into a unified, ongoing process. Things brought into one cohesive flow.
sāra — root · flow, move, wander
From √sar; carries the concrete image of flowing water and movement. The root also appears in sāraṇa (refuge, literally a place of flowing away to safety).

Analysis. saṁ + sāra: from the prefix saṁ (together, completely) and the root √sar (to flow, move). The compound metaphorically depicts the continuous, cyclical flow of becoming through multiple births.

Etymology. √sar (to flow, move) — the root imagery suggests perpetual motion and stream-like continuity. Sanskrit samsāra shares the same structure; compare English surge and serum (both from the same Indo-European root *ser- meaning to flow). The prefix saṁ adds the sense of completeness and repetition, making it not isolated moments but an integrated cycle.

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

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