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vīsati

fem nom sg of vīsati (card)

1. twenty (20)

Built from

• vī — root · two
  From PIE *dwih₂, appearing in the dual stem. Cognates: Sanskrit dvi, Latin bi-, Greek di- (all 'two').
• sati — ending · tens (plural)
  From the root sat- 'to be' or an old noun for 'ten'; the full form vīsati originally meant 'two tens', later grammaticalised as a single cardinal number.

Etymology. From PIE *dwih₂ 'two' via the dual form; compare Sanskrit viṃśati, Latin vīgintī, Greek eíkosi (all '20'). The form reflects an old dual construction ('two tens') that became a cardinal number.

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

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