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usabhā

usabha

masc nom pl of usabha (noun); masc instr sg of usabha (noun); masc abl sg of usabha (noun); masc voc sg of usabha (noun); …

1. head bull; stud bull
2. who is foremost; finest example; leader; lit. stud bull
3. measure of length; 140 cubits; approximately 64 metres
4. name of a privately awakened Buddha; lit. stud bull
5. name of an arahant monk; lit. stud bull
6. name of an arahant monk; lit. stud bull
7. second of the seven primary musical notes

Etymology. From Indo-European *uksén- (ox, bull), cognate with Sanskrit ukṣan-, Greek oxýs (sharp, keen — originally the goad-sharp ox), Latin uxxus, English ox. The word originally meant the prime breeding male. In Pali, usabha shifts from the concrete bull to the metaphorical leader and supreme example (the 'stud' as the finest of his kind), then to musical terminology (the second note as the 'leading' note after the first), and as a proper name for exceptional beings.

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

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