‹ Back to the text
santañca
santa
past participle + conjunction (santaṃ + ca)
- santa (prp): existing; being; there is
- santa (prp): being present; attending
- santa (masc): virtuous man; good person; wise person; sage
- santa (adj): true; correct; lit. existing
- santa (pp): still; calm; at peace; tranquil; lit. calmed
- santa (pp): tired; wearied; fatigued; exhausted; lit. calmed
- santaṃ (prp): existing; being
Built from
- san- — root · calm, be still
From Indo-European *kem- 'to come to rest'; cognate with Sanskrit śam- and distantly English shame. The root projects 'settling into quietude' or 'presence without agitation'.
- -ta — ending · past participle
Standard past participle suffix marking a completed state; here expresses both 'calmed' and 'existing (as a settled fact)'.
- ca — ending · and, also (enclitic conjunction)
Attaches to the preceding word; cognate with Latin -que and English 'and'. The sandhi -ṃ + ca preserves the nasal before the vowel.
Analysis. santaṃ (past participle of śam, 'to calm, be still') + ca (and); the form santaṃ may also function as present participle 'being, existing'. The conjunction ca ('and') attaches enclitically, triggering sandhi: final -ṃ remains.
Etymology. √śam (Sanskrit śamyati 'becomes calm') cognate with English 'shame' (originally 'quiet, modest state') and Latin 'queō' (be able, be quiet). The past participle santa- < *šmta-, expressing both 'brought to rest' and 'present, existing' (the state of being there, undisturbed).