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sabrahmacārīnaṁ

sabrahmacārin

accusative plural masculine of sabrahmacārin (a monastic companion)

1. fellow monk
2. monastic companion
3. one who practices the holy life together

Built from

• sa — prefix · together, with
  Brings two or more things into union. Here it marks one who shares the brahmacariya with another.
• brahma — root · highest, sacred utterance
  An ancient verbal root meaning 'to grow, swell'; brahman became the term for the Vedic absolute and for the highest ascetic discipline (brahmacariya).
• cārin — stem · one who practises
  Agent noun from √car (to walk, move, conduct oneself). A brahmacārin is one who walks the path of the holy life.
• aṁ — ending · accusative plural
  Marks the object of the verb in the plural. The form reflects the -naṁ ending typical of masculine accusative plurals in Pali.

Analysis. sa- (with, together) + brahmacārin (one who practices brahmacariya, the holy life); hence a companion in the religious discipline.

Etymology. sabrahmacārin is a compound of sa- (together, with) and brahmacārin (ascetic, celibate practitioner). The root brahma in brahmacārin does not derive from the deity Brahma but from brahman (originally 'utterance, power', later the Vedic absolute), giving brahmacārin the sense of 'one devoted to the highest practice'. No direct European cognates, but sa- echoes the Indo-European notion of 'together' seen in Latin simul and English same.

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

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