sammāsaṅkappo

sammāsaṅkappa

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

correct intention; right volition; proper thought
with correct intention; having right volition; with proper thought

Built from

saṁ — prefix · together
Brings things into one; here intensifies sammā. Cognate to English same and Latin similis.
sammā — stem · right, correct
Adverbial form of sama (level, proper). Denotes ethical rightness and straightness in the Buddha's path.
saṅkappa — stem · intention, thought, volition
From saṁ + √kḷp (make, fashion). The thought that arises and takes shape in the mind; in the Eightfold Path, the volition directing action toward the good.

Analysis. saṁ + sammā + saṅkappa: sammā is the adverbial form of samma (right, correct); saṁ intensifies it, and saṅkappa means thought/intention/volition. The compound thus means 'intention united in rightness', the second member of the Noble Eightfold Path (sammādiṭṭhi, sammāsaṅkappa, sammāvācā, etc.).

Etymology. saṁ (together; from Indo-European *sem-, cognate with English same, Latin similis) + sammā (from sama 'level, equal, same', hence 'right, proper') + saṅkappa (thought, from saṁ + kapp-, root √kḷp 'make, fashion'). The prefix saṁ- originally denotes things brought into one; here it intensifies sammā (rightness) and binds the intention into unified, undivided mental action. Sanskrit cognate: samyaksamkalpa.

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

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