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santā

santa

masc nom pl of santa (prp); nt nom pl of santa (prp); masc voc pl of santa (prp); nt voc pl of santa (prp); …

1. existing; being; there is
2. being present; attending
3. virtuous man; good person; wise person; sage
4. true; correct; lit. existing
5. still; calm; at peace; tranquil; lit. calmed
6. tired; wearied; fatigued; exhausted; lit. calmed

Built from

• sant- — root · calm, cease
  From √śam; the concrete imagery is quieting, stilling the mind. Cognate with Sanskrit śānta, Greek khnḗ (quiet), and English "shun" (to keep away from disturbance).
• -ā — ending · nom/voc plural
  Nominative and vocative plural ending for masculine and neuter adjectives, marking the agreement of santa as predicate or appositive.

Etymology. From √śam (Sanskrit śamati, śānta) meaning 'to calm, cease, become tranquil'. The root is cognate with English "shame" (originally 'to feel loss of composure') and Latin queror 'to complain'. The semantic shift from 'calmed' to 'virtuous' reflects the Buddhist ideal of the sage as one who has stilled passion and aversion. Related to samādhi and nirvāṇa as states of cessation.

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

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