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vacanena
vacana
nt instr sg of vacana (noun)
- word; utterance; talk; statement; lit. speaking
- saying; mentioning; expressing (of)
- term; expression; phrase; lit. speaking
- (gram) grammatical number; singular or plural; lit. speaking
- bidding; as one says; lit. speaking
Built from
- vac — root · speak
The root appears in Latin vōx (voice), English voice, Greek ops (voice). Originally meant the sound and utterance emerging from the mouth.
- ana — ending · act/product of
This suffix nominalized the root to form abstract action nouns: 'speaking' → 'a word' or 'utterance'. It is productive in Pali nominalizations.
- ena — ending · by means of (instr sg)
The instrumental case ending in singular neuter, marking the means or instrument: 'by means of the word', 'with the utterance'.
Etymology. From √vac 'to speak' (Sanskrit vac-, Latin vōx 'voice', English voice). The -ana suffix forms action nouns: 'the act or product of speaking'. Compare Sanskrit vāc 'speech' (same root, feminine), which gave Pali vācā.