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saṅkamo

saṅkama

masc nom sg of saṅkama (noun); aor 2nd sg of saṅkami (verb)

1. saṅkama (masc): bridge; lit. going together
2. saṅkami (aor): passed over to, shifted, transmigrated; lit. went together

Built from

• saṁ — prefix · together, with
  Brings things into one; works like Latin con-. The togetherness of a bridge's two endpoints, or the joining of states in transmigration.
• kam — root · go, move
  Related to Sanskrit √gam and Latin comes 'one who goes with'; the abstract sense 'motion, passage' underlies both noun and verb forms.
• a — ending · noun masculine
  Nominative singular masculine. Forms agent nouns and abstract nouns from verbal roots.

Analysis. saṁ + kama: together + going/motion; lit. 'going together', hence 'bridge' (a passage bringing two sides together) and (for the verb) 'crossing over, transmigrating'.

Etymology. saṁ (prefix: together, bringing into one) + √kam (to go, move; related to Sanskrit gam, Latin comes 'companion', Greek basis 'step'). The spatial imagery of 'together' + 'going' captures both the concrete crossing and the abstract notion of transition between states—especially rebirth across saṁsāra.

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

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