Pati (title)
Pati is a title meaning "master" or "lord". The word is in common usage in the Indian subcontinent today. Etymologically, the word derives from the Indo-European language family and finds references in various classical Indo-Iranian languages, including Sanskrit, Old Persian language and Avestan. In modern-day Hindustani and other Indo-Aryan languages, pati and patni have taken on the meanings of husband and wife respectively when used as standalone words. The feminine equivalent in Indo-Aryan languages is patni. The term pati is frequently used as a suffix, e.g. lakhpati.
Modern usage
- As a standalone term indicating husband, pati
- In official titles, e.g. Rashtra-pati, Sena-pati and Sabha-pati
- In feudal and corporate titles, e.g. Bhumi-pati, Udyog-pati.
- In adjectives, e.g. crore-pati, lakh-pati.
- As a descriptive term, e.g. dampati
- In names and surnames. It has been in usage in names in the Indian subcontinent since ancient times. Eg. Ganapati or Ganapathy.
Etymology and cognates
The term pati is believed to originate from the Proto-Indo-European language. Older Persian languages, such as Avestan, use the term pati or paiti as a title extensively, e.g. dmana-paiti.In Sanskrit, it is 'pat-' when uncompounded and meaning"husband" instrumental case p/atyā-; dative case p/atye-; genitive case ablative p/atyur-; locative case p/atyau-; But when meaning"lord, master", and in fine compositi or 'at the end of a compound' regularly inflected with exceptions; ) a master, owner, possessor, lord, ruler, sovereign etc. For example, in the Vedas, we come across words such as Brhas –pati, Praja – pati, Vachas –pati, Pasu – pati, Apam –pati, Bhu pati, Tridasa – pati and Nr - pati. Here the 'pati’' is suffix translated as “Lord of …………..”
In several Indo-European languages, cognate terms exist in varying forms, for instance in the English word "despot" from the Greek δεσ-πότης, meaning "master, despot, lord, owner." In Latin, the term changed meaning from master to able, and is "an example of a substantive coming to be used as an adjective," resulting in English words such as potent, potential and potentate. In Lithuanian, pats as a standalone word came to mean husband, himself, as did pati in Hindi/Hindustani.