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devānamindo

devānaminda

masc nom sg of devānaminda (noun)

1. lord of the gods; epithet of Sakka

Built from

• deva — root · god
  PIE *dyew- 'sky, to shine'; cognates: Sanskrit deva, Latin deus, Greek Zeus. The word enters Pali from Sanskrit.
• ānam — ending · genitive plural
  Marks the possessed group: 'of the gods.' The -ānam ending is the genitive plural masculine in Pali.
• inda — root · lord, Indra
  From Indra, the Vedic king of heaven; the name itself suggests 'possessor' or 'one who kindles.' In later Pali, inda becomes a common epithet for 'lord' or 'king' among devas.

Analysis. devānam (genitive plural of deva 'god') + inda (from Indra, king of the gods, or variant of inda 'lord'). Compound epithet: 'lord of the gods,' identifying Sakka as supreme among deities.

Etymology. deva (god) derives from PIE *dyew- 'sky, shine' (Sanskrit deva, Latin deus, English divine); inda/Indra is the Vedic storm-god and king of heaven, whose name means 'possessor' from PIE *en-dh- 'to have within' (related to Sanskrit indha- 'fuel, kindle'). The compound calques Sanskrit Devendra (deva-indra).

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

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