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seṭṭho

seṭṭha

masc nom sg of seṭṭha (adj); masc nom sg of seṭṭha (noun)

1. foremost (among); best (of); primary; most important; supreme (among)
2. chief; leader; foremost; first

Built from

• seṭṭh — root · excel, surpass
  From Sanskrit śreṣ-, an Indo-European root *ser- meaning to flow, stand out, or excel. The concrete sense 'standing out' or 'going forward' underlies the meaning 'foremost' and 'best'.
• a — ending · masculine nominative singular
  The -a ending marks the nominative singular masculine form of the adjective/noun.

Etymology. From Sanskrit śreṣṭha, from the root śreṣ- (to excel, surpass). The Pali form seṭṭha shows regular sound changes from Sanskrit: ś > s, and the suffix -ṭha. Cognate with Greek ἄριστος (aristos, best) and English stressed (from the root meaning to stretch or stand out), both from the Indo-European root *ser- (to flow, run, excel).

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

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