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vanasaṇḍaṁ

vanasaṇḍa

accusative singular masculine of vanasaṇḍa (noun)

1. forest group
2. band of trees
3. wooded tract

Built from

• vana — root · forest, wood
  From √van-, to dwell or desire; the place where one dwells among trees. Related to Sanskrit vana and English «win» in its archaic sense of habitation.
• saṇḍa — root · group, band, collection
  From √saṇḍh-, to bind or join; a gathering of things bound or held together.
• ṁ — ending · accusative singular
  The accusative case ending marks vanasaṇḍa as the direct object of a verb or preposition in the sentence.

Analysis. vanasaṇḍaṁ = vana (forest) + saṇḍa (group, band, collection). A compound denoting a cluster or company of trees in a wooded area.

Etymology. vana is from √van- (to desire, to dwell), cognate with Sanskrit vana and ultimately related to English «win» (to dwell, inhabit). saṇḍa (group, band) is related to saṇḍhati (to bind, join together). The compound thus pictures forests as bound-together groves.

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

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