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Glite Dictionary
📜 Early Buddhist texts 📜 Ancient Buddhist language
Pali language

Pali language

1 9.9
An ancient Indian language used to write early Buddhist religious texts
  • proper noun
  • /ˈpɑːli ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/
  • Literature
: idioma pali
  • The teachings of the Buddha were preserved in the Pali language for centuries.

Examples

  • The Pali language is essential for understanding early Buddhist texts.

  • She attended a workshop on Pali language to aid her research in Buddhist history.

  • Scholars often study the Pali language to better understand early Buddhist scriptures.

  • Many scholars study the Pali language to access ancient scriptures.

  • Many scholars study the Pali language to access ancient Buddhist scriptures.

  • The Pali language is crucial for those interested in the teachings of early Buddhism.

  • Learning the Pali language can greatly enhance one's understanding of historical Buddhist texts.

Synonyms

Pali
vsPali language
  • Specialized
2 9.9

An ancient language used in Theravada Buddhism for religious books and chants

describes the ancient Indo-Aryan used widely in many early Buddhist scriptures in India

Surface Forms

Pali language main

Morphology

Pali + language

This is fully compositional: 'Pali' denotes the specific named scriptural language and 'language' denotes a linguistic system, so 'Pali language' straightforwardly means the language called Pali. There is no idiomatic or metaphorical shift and the 'X + language' pattern is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would understand the meaning.

Etymology

Pali language is the name of the old speech early Buddhists used to keep the Buddha's words. Since the teachings were kept and read in that language, Pali language today refers to the language of the 'early Buddhist scriptures'.