‹ Back to the text

supatitthā

supatittha

masc nom pl of supatittha (adj); fem nom sg of supatittha (adj); fem nom pl of supatittha (adj); nt nom pl of supatittha (adj); …

1. with beautiful banks; with beautiful bathing places

Built from

• su — prefix · well, good
  Indo-European *su-, same root as Greek eu- (eulogy). Concrete sense: excellence, beauty.
• pa — prefix · forth, forward
  Intensifies and directs attention forward. Works like Latin pro-; brings out the prominence of the standing-place.
• tittha — stem · standing place, ford, bank
  From √thi (stand), cognate with Sanskrit sthita (stood, placed), English stand. Denotes a literal place where one stands to ford or bathe.
• -a — ending · masculine/neuter nominative
  Agreement ending showing case and gender of the adjective modifying its noun.

Analysis. su- (well, good) + pa- (forth, forward) + tittha (standing place, ford, bank). The compound denotes a place that stands forth beautifully, hence a well-favoured ford or bathing place with fine banks.

Etymology. su- from Indo-European *su- (well, good; cognate with Greek eu- in eulogy, eu-phony); tittha from √thi (to stand), related to Sanskrit sthita and English stand. The prefix pa- intensifies the forward-standing quality of the place.

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

Lite mode — plain HTML for e-readers and old browsers. Full version