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vasena

vasa

masc instr sg of vasa (noun); masc instr sg of vasa (root); masc instr sg of vasa (adj); nt instr sg of vasa (adj)

1. vasa (masc): wish; desire; will
2. vasa (masc): control; authority; power; mastery (over)
3. vasa (masc): financial ability; lit. power
4. vasa (root): (gram) √vas (live)
5. vasena (ind): due to; through; by means (of); lit. by the power
6. vasena (ind): as; lit. by the power
7. vasena (ind): concerning; lit. by the power
8. vasa (adj): made of tallow; from lard

Built from

• vas — root · dwell, wish, have power
  √vas is cognate with Sanskrit vasa and Avestan vah- (carry). The sense 'power' arises from the concrete idea of settling or dwelling firmly.
• a — ending · masculine nominative singular
  The masculine singular nominative marker, forming the base noun vasa.
• ena — ending · instrumental singular
  The instrumental singular ending for masculine nouns and neuter adjectives; here grammaticalized as a postposition meaning 'by the power of', 'through', or 'by means of'.

Analysis. vasena is the instrumental singular form of vasa used as an indeclinable postposition or adverbial marker meaning 'by the power of', 'through', 'by means of', or 'as'. The -ena ending is the regular instrumental singular for masculine nouns and neuter adjectives.

Etymology. vasa derives from √vas (to dwell, wish, have power), cognate with Sanskrit vasa, Avestan vah- (to carry, have), and possibly English wish via Proto-Germanic *wiska-. The sense 'power' develops from 'dwelling' or 'settling' (what settles one's affairs), and the instrumental vasena grammaticalizes into a postposition expressing agency or means, much as English 'with' or 'by' originates in the instrumental case.

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

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