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susukāḷakeso
susukāḷakesa
masc nom sg of susukāḷakesa (adj)
- young and black haired; (comm) with good head of black hair
Built from
- su — prefix · well, good
Carries the spatial sense of fullness and completeness into intensification and approval. Cognate with Greek εὖ eu- (eulogy) and Sanskrit su-; same Indo-European root.
- sukāḷa — stem · young, tender
From √śuc (to shrivel); sukāḷa denotes the opposite—the state before withering, hence youth and freshness. The exact sense 'tender, supple' fits what is not yet hardened by age.
- kesa — stem · hair
From PIE *keres-; cognates: Latin crinis (hair), Greek κόμη komē (hair), Sanskrit keśa. In Pali, kesa often appears in bahuvrīhi compounds describing physical beauty.
- ∅ — ending · masculine nominative singular
The zero ending marks the masculine nominative singular in -a stems; the whole compound is a nominal adjective (bahuvrīhi) where external form is nominative but the inner compounds govern oblique stems.
Analysis. su- (well, good) + sukāḷa (young, tender) + kesa (hair); a bahuvrīhi compound: 'one whose young black hair is good' = handsome-haired.
Etymology. su- from PIE *su̯e-/su̯ā (well, good; cognate English swoon < OE swān 'sound, well'); sukāḷa from √śuc (Skt śuśyati 'shrivels', hence the tender state before age sets in); kesa from PIE *keres- (hair; cognate Latin crinis, Greek κόμη komē, Sanskrit keśa). The compound praises beauty through the vividness of youth and dark hair.