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samaṇā

samaṇa

masc nom pl of samaṇa (noun); masc instr sg of samaṇa (noun); masc abl sg of samaṇa (noun); masc voc sg of samaṇa (noun); …

1. ascetic; renunciant; holy man; monk; recluse; lit. who makes an effort; calm one
2. Ascetic; epithet of the Buddha

Built from

• sam — prefix · together
  Prefix bringing things into one; here meaning unified effort or concentration directed toward ascetic practice.
• aṇa — ending · agent noun
  Nominative plural masculine ending -ā; marks one who performs the action or embodies the quality.

Etymology. From sam- (together) + √man (think, make effort): 'one who brings thought/effort together', hence one who concentrates or strives toward spiritual goals. The root √man appears in Sanskrit manyate 'thinks' and English 'mind'. The prefix sam- carries its sense of bringing things into unified, concentrated form.

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

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