thāmasā

thāmas

masc instr sg of thāmas (noun); masc abl sg of thāmas (noun)

thāmas (masc): stamina; strength; steadfastness; resilience; fortitude
thāmas (masc): fixedness; rigidity; obstinacy
thāmasā (ind): obstinately; stubbornly; lit. with rigidity

Built from

thāma — stem · firmness, steadiness
Derived from √sthā 'stand, be firm' (Sanskrit sthira, English 'staid'). The root's concrete sense of physical stability extends to mental resilience and emotional constancy.
s — ending · masc nom/acc
Forms the nominative/accusative singular of masculine noun; -ā variant yields the adverbial form.
ā — ending · instrumental (adverbial)
Feminine instrumental ending used adverbially: 'with firmness/rigidity', turning the noun into a manner adverb meaning 'stubbornly, obstinately'.

Etymology. From √sthā 'stand, be firm' (Sanskrit sthira 'firm', English 'staid'). The form thāmas reflects the nominal derivative thāman-, which develops the concrete sense of 'standing firm, solidity' into the abstract 'steadfastness, resilience'. The adverbial thāmasā uses the feminine instrumental ending -ā to create an adverbial modifier: 'with/by means of firmness', hence 'obstinately'.

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

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