<p>According to British philologist and Professor Emeritus of Indian Studies at Cambridge University, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._R._Norman" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Kenneth Roy Norman</a>, Pali was mistakenly made to be the name of the language of the Canon. He explains how, below. He also links it to the Canon.</p>

<p>From "<a href="http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/Articles/The%20Pali%20Language%20and%20the%20Theravadin%20Tradition_Norman_1983.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Pāḷi Language and the Theravādin Tradition</a>" (1983) by Kenneth Roy Norman:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The dialect  of Middle Indo-Aryan which is found in the texts of the
  Theravadin  Buddhists and usually called "Pali" by European scholars
  is nowhere so called in the Theravadin canon. The word <em>pāli</em> is found
  in the chronicles and the  commentaries upon the canon, but there it
  has the meaning "canon" and is used in the sense of a canonical text
  or phrase as opposed to the commentary (<em>aṭṭhakathā</em>)  upon it. This
  usage is made  clear by the  fact that  the  word <em>pāli</em> sometimes
  alternates with <em><a href="https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/pali_query.py?qs=Tanti&amp;searchhws=yes" rel="nofollow noreferrer">tanti</a></em>.</p>
  
  <p>It would seem that the name "Pali" is based upon a misunderstanding of
  the compound <em>pāli-bhāsā</em> "language of the canon", where the word
  <em>pāli</em> was taken to stand for the name of a particular <em>bhāsā</em>, 
  as a result of which the word was applied to the language of both canon and
  commentaries. There is evidence that this misunderstanding occurred
  several centuries ago.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>According to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhikkhu_Bodhi" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Bhikkhu Bodhi</a> (from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pali#Modern_scholarship" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a> - taken from "In the Buddha's Words" (2005), Wisdom Publications, page 10):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Scholars regard this language (Pali) as a hybrid showing features of
  several Prakrit dialects used around the third century BCE, subjected
  to a partial process of Sanskritization. While the language is not
  identical to what Buddha himself would have spoken, it belongs to the
  same broad language family as those he might have used and originates
  from the same conceptual matrix. This language thus reflects the
  thought-world that the Buddha inherited from the wider Indian culture
  into which he was born, so that its words capture the subtle nuances
  of that thought-world.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-05T15:57:20.420Z
2020-05-05T16:50:50.397Z
2020-05-05T16:50:50.397Z
ruben2020
<p>Do you know about the etymology of the Pāḷi word “Pāḷi”, how it breaks up and from what root it is formed etc.? And can you recall any more or less lengthy scholarly or otherwise discussions to which you could kindly refer me to? I know it is a Dravidian loanword, but I remember having came across some papers or books trying to elaborating on it also from a standpoint of Pāḷi philology. It would be very grateful if possible give ways to find out more about the significance of the word and it's meaning.</p>

<hr>

<p>In a comment Samana Johann linked to this answer -- <a href="https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/pali-etymology-question/15933/2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Pāli Etymology Question</a> -- which suggests (with references) that the etymology of the word is related to its role in preserving the Dhamma ... for example, “dam”, “dike”, “bridge”; or “to recite”; or  “protecting”.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-05T14:12:13.073Z
Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been [moved to chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/107628/discussion-on-question-by-hnuttamo-whats-the-meaning-of-pli-and-its-releva).
ChrisW
<pali-language><pali>
What's the meaning of "Pāli" and its relevance in regard of the Buddha's Dhamma?
# What's the meaning of "Pāli" and its relevance in regard of the Buddha's Dhamma?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-05-04)

Do you know about the etymology of the Pāḷi word “Pāḷi”, how it breaks up and from what root it is formed etc.? And can you recall any more or less lengthy scholarly or otherwise discussions to which you could kindly refer me to? I know it is a Dravidian loanword, but I remember having came across some papers or books trying to elaborating on it also from a standpoint of Pāḷi philology. It would be very grateful if possible give ways to find out more about the significance of the word and it's meaning.

---

In a comment Samana Johann linked to this answer -- [Pāli Etymology Question](https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/pali-etymology-question/15933/2) -- which suggests (with references) that the etymology of the word is related to its role in preserving the Dhamma ... for example, “dam”, “dike”, “bridge”; or “to recite”; or “protecting”.

**Tags:** pali-language, pali

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been [moved to chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/107628/discussion-on-question-by-hnuttamo-whats-the-meaning-of-pli-and-its-releva).  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-05-05. Score: 1

According to British philologist and Professor Emeritus of Indian Studies at Cambridge University, [Kenneth Roy Norman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._R._Norman), Pali was mistakenly made to be the name of the language of the Canon. He explains how, below. He also links it to the Canon.

From "[The Pāḷi Language and the Theravādin Tradition](http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/Articles/The%20Pali%20Language%20and%20the%20Theravadin%20Tradition_Norman_1983.pdf)" (1983) by Kenneth Roy Norman:

> The dialect of Middle Indo-Aryan which is found in the texts of the
> Theravadin Buddhists and usually called "Pali" by European scholars
> is nowhere so called in the Theravadin canon. The word *pāli* is found
> in the chronicles and the commentaries upon the canon, but there it
> has the meaning "canon" and is used in the sense of a canonical text
> or phrase as opposed to the commentary (*aṭṭhakathā*) upon it. This
> usage is made clear by the fact that the word *pāli* sometimes
> alternates with *[tanti](https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/pali_query.py?qs=Tanti&searchhws=yes)*.
>
> It would seem that the name "Pali" is based upon a misunderstanding of
> the compound *pāli-bhāsā* "language of the canon", where the word
> *pāli* was taken to stand for the name of a particular *bhāsā*,
> as a result of which the word was applied to the language of both canon and
> commentaries. There is evidence that this misunderstanding occurred
> several centuries ago.

According to [Bhikkhu Bodhi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhikkhu_Bodhi) (from [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pali#Modern_scholarship) - taken from "In the Buddha's Words" (2005), Wisdom Publications, page 10):

> Scholars regard this language (Pali) as a hybrid showing features of
> several Prakrit dialects used around the third century BCE, subjected
> to a partial process of Sanskritization. While the language is not
> identical to what Buddha himself would have spoken, it belongs to the
> same broad language family as those he might have used and originates
> from the same conceptual matrix. This language thus reflects the
> thought-world that the Buddha inherited from the wider Indian culture
> into which he was born, so that its words capture the subtle nuances
> of that thought-world.


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