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uccāsaddamahāsaddāya

uccāsaddamahāsadda

fem instr sg of uccāsaddamahāsadda (adj); masc dat sg of uccāsaddamahāsadda (adj); fem dat sg of uccāsaddamahāsadda (adj); nt dat sg of uccāsaddamahāsadda (adj); …

1. making an enormous racket; making a great commotion; lit. high sound great sound

Built from

• uccā — prefix · high, up
  ud- (up, out) + ca (emphatic particle), contracted to uc- before saddā. The concrete image is sound ascending and projecting outward.
• sadda — root · sound, noise
  From √sad 'to sound, resound'. Cognate with English 'shout', both expressing vocal projection.
• mahā — prefix · great, large
  Related to Latin magnus and English 'might' (from *meg- in Proto-Indo-European). Intensifies the preceding compound.
• sadda — root · sound, noise
  Repeated morpheme emphasizing auditory intensity through doublet.
• ya — ending · (dative/instrumental marker)
  Feminine instrumental singular or dative singular of various genders, agreeing with a noun head.

Analysis. uccāsadda + mahāsadda, 'high sound' + 'great sound', both describing the same loud noise; mahā intensifies and expands the sense of uccāsadda. The compound emphasizes cacophony through repetition of saddā 'sound' with two qualifying adjectives, a rhetorical device for dramatic effect.

Etymology. uccāsadda: uc- (up) + saddā (sound); mahāsadda: mahā (great) + saddā (sound). Saddā derives from the root √sad 'to sound, resound', cognate with English 'shout' (via Germanic *skeudan-). The prefix ud- (up, out) becomes uc- before saddā through sandhi, reinforcing upward-soaring sound. Mahā is related to Latin magnus and English 'might'.

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

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