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vammiko

vammika

masc nom sg of vammika (noun); masc nom sg of vammika (adj)

1. ant-hill
2. armoured; clad in battle armour; lit. covered

Built from

• vamma — root · armour, covering
  Related to √vṛ 'to cover'. The concrete imagery is of a protective layer or enclosure.
• -ika — ending · forming adjectives and nouns
  A suffix that derives adjectives (meaning 'characterized by') and nouns (meaning 'thing characterized by'). Here it makes 'covered/armoured thing' into both an adjective and a noun.

Analysis. From vamma (a type of armour or covering) + -ika (suffix forming adjectives and nouns). The sense 'ant-hill' is secondary, from the notion of a mound or raised structure.

Etymology. Vamma appears to be related to Sanskrit varmán 'armour, protection' (literally 'covering'), from the root √vṛ 'to cover, enclose'. The noun vammika originally meant 'something covered' or 'protected structure', then extended to 'ant-hill' as a covered or enclosed mound. No direct European cognates; compare the root sense to English 'wear' in the sense of protective covering.

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

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