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sappurisānaṁ

sappurisa

masculine noun, genitive plural

1. good person
2. worthy person
3. virtuous individual

Built from

• sa- — prefix · with, having
  Marks possession of a quality; the person who has the mark of humanity fully developed.
• purisa — root · person, man
  From *per- (go forth, lead); the mature, active agent.

Analysis. sa- (with) + purisa (person) = one with the qualities of a true person; contrasts with duppurisa (bad person). The prefix sa- carries the sense of 'having' or 'possessing'.

Etymology. purisa is related to Sanskrit puruṣa and Indo-European *per- (to lead, pass through), the sense evolving from 'one who goes forth' to 'person'. The prefix sa- (with, having) parallels Latin cum- and English same.

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

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