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upasampadanti

upasampadā

3rd person plural present indicative of upasampadati

1. undertaking; taking up (of); lit. going near together
2. (vinaya) higher ordination as monastic; lit. going near together

Built from

• upa — prefix · up close, near
  Spatial prefix meaning approach or proximity; here conveys the sense of drawing near to the Sangha.
• sam — prefix · together, with
  Combines multiple agents or acts into one; here expresses the collective or joint nature of the ordination act.
• pad — root · go, step, fall
  Ancient root *ped- (cognate with English foot, Latin pes pedis, Greek pous podos). The root's core image of stepping or going underlies both literal motion and abstract undertaking.
• a — stem · feminine stem marker
  Forms the nominal stem upasampadā, classed as feminine by gender.
• nti — ending · 3rd plural present
  Present indicative active ending; indicates the plural third-person agents (candidates) performing the action in the here-and-now.

Analysis. upa- (up close to, near) + sam- (together) + √pad (go, fall); literally 'go together near', hence 'approach together' or 'undertake jointly'; in Vinaya, the act of approaching the Sangha together to be formally received into monastic life.

Etymology. Compound of the prefixes upa- (up close, alongside; cognate with Greek hypo-, Latin sub-, English up) and sam- (together, completely; cognate with English same, Latin similis, Greek homo-). The root √pad (go, fall, step) is ancient Indo-European (*ped-, *pod-; cognate with English foot, Latin pes, Greek pous). The concrete image is of candidates approaching the assembly together to be incorporated into the order.

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

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