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upāsakā

upāsaka

masc nom pl of upāsaka (noun); masc instr sg of upāsaka (noun); masc abl sg of upāsaka (noun); masc voc sg of upāsaka (noun); …

1. lay disciple; lay devotee; lit. who sits near

Built from

• upa — prefix · near, up close
  Approach and proximity; literally 'up close to', it comes to mean devoted attendance and service in the religious context.
• ās — root · sit
  From Indo-European *h₂ed-, meaning to sit or be seated. Cognate with Latin sedere (sit, whence sedentary) and English assize (a sitting of court).
• ka — ending · agent noun
  Nominalized suffix forming masculine agent nouns from verbal roots; -ka marks 'one who does' the action.

Analysis. upa (near, up close) + ās (sit) + ka (agent noun suffix); literally 'one who sits close by', originally descriptive of a devoted follower attending the Buddha

Etymology. upa- (up close to, alongside, < Indo-European *up-) + √ās (sit, from Indo-European *h₂ed- 'to sit', cognate with English "assize" and Latin "sedere"). The prefix shifts from spatial proximity to the spiritual sense of devoted attendance. Cognate formations: Greek hypo- (under, near, as in hypocrisy < hypo + krinein); Sanskrit upāsaka (the same word).

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

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