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devatāya

devatā

fem instr sg of devatā (noun); fem dat sg of devatā (noun); fem abl sg of devatā (noun); fem gen sg of devatā (noun); …

1. deity; god

Built from

• dev- — root · shining, divine
  The root underlying deva (god, shining one), cognate with Latin deus and PIE *dyew- (to shine, sky; English day).
• -ā — ending · abstract feminine
  Abstract feminine suffix (-tā) forming nouns of state or quality from adjectives: creates a feminine noun meaning the abstract concept of divinity or godhood.

Etymology. From deva- (shining, divine) + -tā (abstract feminine suffix forming nouns of quality). Deva is cognate with Latin deus, Avestan daēva, and Sanskrit deva, all from PIE *dyew- (to shine, sky), the root of English "day" and "divine". The suffix -tā creates abstract nouns of state or essence: devā + tā = "divinity, the quality of being divine".

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

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