‹ Back to the text

saddho

saddha

masc nom sg of saddha (adj); masc nom sg of saddha (noun)

1. faithful; confident; believing; devoted; trusting; lit. placing the heart
2. credulous; gullible; lit. placing the heart
3. name of a monk; lit. placing the heart
4. name of a monk; son of Sudatta; lit. placing the heart

Built from

• sad — root · place, put
  From PIE *sed- 'sit, settle': one who places or settles their trust. Cognate with Sanskrit sthā, Latin sedēre (sit), English 'sit', 'settle'.
• dha — root · heart, mind
  The organ of emotion and intention. Cognate with Sanskrit dhi (thought, understanding), Latin cor, English 'heart'. Here it carries the sense of the seat of trust and devotion.

Etymology. From sad- (place, put) + dha (heart): literally 'placing the heart (in)', hence confidence and trust. The root sad- is cognate with Sanskrit sthā (to stand, be firm) and English 'stead'; dha (heart) is related to Latin cor and English 'heart'. The compound crystallizes the image of one who steadies or places their heart in another, yielding faith and devotion.

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

Lite mode — plain HTML for e-readers and old browsers. Full version