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satthasamphassenapi

satthasamphassa

masculine noun (instrumental singular with postpositive api 'even, also')

1. stabbing with a weapon; blow with a sword; lit. contact with weapon

Built from

• sattha — root · weapon, sword
  From PIE *sket- 'to cut, scratch'; cognate with English 'scathe' (harm, injury from cutting) and Old Norse 'skathi' (harm, damage). The root imagery is sharp cutting.
• sam — prefix · together, with
  Brings concrete sense of things brought into one; here suggests pressing or collision. Works like Latin con- (contact).
• phassa — stem · contact, touch
  From √phus- 'to touch, brush, rub'. The stem nominalized from a verb sense of contact or collision.
• ena — ending · instrumental singular
  Marks means or agency: 'by means of', 'through'. Here expresses the instrument causing the action (weapon-blow).
• api — prefix · even, also
  Postpositive particle emphasizing or adding concessive force. Here 'even by weapon-contact' or 'also by striking'.

Analysis. satthasamphassena + api: instrumental singular of satthasamphassa ('weapon-contact') + postpositive particle 'even, also'; the instrumental expresses means or agency, here 'by means of weapon-contact', and api adds emphasis or concession, 'even with a weapon-blow' or 'by weapon-contact also'.

Etymology. satthasamphassa is a compound of satthaṁ (nominative singular of sattha, 'weapon, sword', cognate with English 'scathe' and Old Norse 'skathi' 'harm', both from PIE *sket- 'to cut, scratch') + samphassa (from sam- 'together' + phassa 'contact', where phassa derives from √phus- 'to touch, brush'; the prefix sam- brings the concrete imagery of pressing or rubbing together, hence contact or collision). The whole compound means 'weapon-contact', literally the touching or striking together of weapon and body.

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

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