sammāsamādhi

masc nom sg of sammāsamādhi (noun); masc voc sg of sammāsamādhi (noun); masc nom sg of sammāsamādhi (adj); fem nom sg of sammāsamādhi (adj); …

perfect stability of mind; correct meditative composure
having perfect stability of mind; with correct meditative composure

Built from

sam — prefix · together, with
Things brought into one; works like Latin con-. Cognates: English same, Greek homo-, Latin similis.
mā — root · measure, think
The concrete sense of measuring or gauging becomes wisdom and right discernment. Cognates: Latin metiri, English mete.
sam — prefix · together, with
Things brought into one; works like Latin con-.
ā — prefix · toward, inward
Reverses or completes motion; collects toward the speaker. No common European cognate.
dhā — root · place, put
The concrete act of placing becomes the meditative act of collecting and settling the mind. Cognates: English do, Latin facere.
-i — ending · nominative
Masculine nominative singular (-i) in Pali; marks the subject of a sentence or predicate noun.

Analysis. sammā (rightly, correctly; from sam + √mā to measure, hence 'well-measured') + samādhi (concentration, collectedness; from sam + ā + √dhā to place). Together, the perfect inward gathering of mind according to the Dhamma.

Etymology. Compound of two Sanskrit-derived Pali words. sammā derives from sam- + √mā (to measure, think), cognate with Latin metiri and English mete; the prefix sam- means together (like English same, Latin similis). samādhi compounds sam- (together) + ā- (toward, inward) + √dhā (to place, put), cognate with English do and Latin facere; the spatial sense of placing-together-inward became the meditative state where all mental factors converge. sammāsamādhi denotes the eighth and culminating factor of the Noble Eightfold Path, distinguishing right (sammā) from wrong concentration.

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

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