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suṇisā

fem nom sg of suṇisā (noun); fem nom pl of suṇisā (noun); fem acc pl of suṇisā (noun); fem instr sg of suṇisā (noun); …

1. son's wife; daughter-in-law

Built from

• su — prefix · well, good
  From Indo-European *su-, cognate with Greek eu- (eulogy) and English 'well'. Here marks positive quality or propriety.
• ṇisā — stem · conducted, led (feminine)
  Related to √nis (lead, conduct); the feminine -ā ending makes it a noun. The root may connect to Proto-Indo-European *sner- (bind, twist), as in Latin nurus 'daughter-in-law', though the connection is indirect.

Etymology. su- (well, good) + √nis- (lead, conduct): literally 'well-conducted (woman)'. The word reflects an Indo-European formation similar to Latin nurus 'daughter-in-law', which shares the root √sner-/√ner- (spin, twist, bind in marriage); Pali su + nis suggests a woman of good conduct or well-established in the household.

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

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