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santāpetuṁ

santāpeti

infinitive (santāpetuṁ) of the causative santāpeti, from √tap 'to burn'; surface form shows sandhi contraction and pāli nominalization

1. to torment
2. to cause suffering
3. to burn (metaphorically)

Built from

• san — prefix · together
  Assimilated form of saṁ before t; intensifies the root sense inward into emotional/spiritual burning.
• tāp — root · burn, heat
  Related to Sanskrit tap and English 'tepid'; the metaphorical extension to emotional suffering is native to Pali doctrinal usage.
• e — ending · present 3rd singular
  Thematic vowel of the -eti conjugation, marking present indicative active in causative formations.
• tuṁ — ending · infinitive
  The infinitive suffix -tuṁ nominates the verb for use as a verbal noun in oblique cases or gerundial contexts.

Analysis. sam + √tap + causative suffix -eti; saṁ 'together' + tap 'burn' = 'burn together', intensified to 'burn inwardly, torment'. The causative -eti makes it 'cause to burn/torment'.

Etymology. √tap (Sanskrit √tap, cognate with English 'tepid', Latin 'tepēre' 'to be warm') originally means 'to heat'; the prefix saṁ 'together' intensifies the root sense inward, yielding the metaphorical meaning 'to cause inner burning, to torment'. The causative voice adds 'cause to suffer'.

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

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