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santike

santika

masc acc pl of santika (adj); nt acc pl of santika (adj); masc loc sg of santika (adj); nt loc sg of santika (adj); …

1. santika (adj): near; close
2. santika (nt): vicinity (of); presence (of); near (to)
3. santika (adj): giving peace (to); pacifying; calming
4. santike (ind): to; in the presence (of); near (to); nearby; close (to); on the verge (of)
5. santike (ind): compared (to); lit. near
6. santikā (fem): (a game variously called) jackstraws; spillikins; spellicans; pick-up-sticks

Built from

• sant — root · peaceful, calm
  From √śam; cognate with Sanskrit śānta. The concrete image is of settling, quieting—hence the derived spatial sense of 'near' as a place of refuge and calm.
• -ika — ending · adjective suffix
  Marks a quality or characteristic; -ika is a productive Pali suffix that forms adjectives and abstract nouns from roots and stems.
• -e — ending · locative/indeclinable particle
  The -e ending marks santike as an indeclinable adverbial form used to express location, proximity, or ablative sense ('near to', 'in the presence of', 'alongside').

Analysis. santika is formed from santa (peaceful, calm) + -ika (adj. suffix); santike as indeclinable locative/ablative form used to mean 'near to, in the vicinity of'.

Etymology. From √śam (Sanskrit śam-, Pali sant-) 'to be peaceful, calm', related to English 'sum' in the sense of completion/wholeness and Latin 'summus' 'highest, supreme'. The -ika suffix marks qualities; the word's spatial sense ('near, close') derives from the protective, calming proximity of a peaceful presence—being near to peace, hence near to someone or something. Compare Sanskrit śānta 'peaceful' and śānti 'peace'.

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

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