collection of houses, a hamlet (cp. Ger. gemeinde), a habitable place (opp. arañña: gāme vā yadi vâraññe Snp.119), a parish or village having boundaries & distinct from the surrounding country (gāmo ca gāmupacāro ca Vin.i.109 Vin.i.110; Vin.iii.46). In size varying, but usually small distinguished from nigama, a market-town. It is the smallest in the list of settlements making up a “state (raṭṭhaṃ). See definition & description at Vin.iii.46 Vin.iii.200. It is the source of support for the bhikkhus, and the phrase gāmaṃ piṇḍāya carati “to visit the parish for alms” is extremely frequent.

1. a village as such Vin.i.46; Ārāmika˚, Pilinda˚ Vin.i.28, Vin.i.29 (as Ārāmikagāmaka & Pilinda-gāmaka at Vin.iii.249); Sakyānaṃ gāme janapade Lumbineyye Snp.683; Uruvela˚ Pv.ii.13#18; gāmo nâtikālena pavisitabbo MN.i.469; ˚ṃ raṭṭhañ ca bhuñjati Snp.619, Snp.711; gāme tiṃsa kulāni honti Ja.i.199
   ■ Snp.386, Snp.929, Snp.978; Ja.ii.153; Ja.vi.366; Dhp.47, Dhp.49; Dhs.697 (suñño g.); Pv-a.73 (gāme amaccakula); Pv-a.67 (gāmassa dvārasamīpena)
   ■ gāmā gāmaṃ from hamlet to hamlet MN.ii.20; Snp.180 (with nagā nagaṃ; expl. Snp-a.216 as devagāmā devagāmaṃ), Snp.192 (with purā puraṃ); Pv.ii.13#18. In the same sense gāmena gāmaṃ Cnd.177 (with nigamena n˚, nagarena n˚., raṭṭhena r˚., janapadena j˚.).
2. grouped with nigama, a market-town: gāmanigamo sevitabbo or asevitabbo AN.iv.365 sq., cp. AN.v.101 (w. janapadapadeso)- Vin.iii.25, Vin.iii.184 (˚ṃ vā nigamaṃ vā upanissāya), Vin.iv.93 (piṇḍāya pavisati); gāmassa vā nigamassa vā avidūre DN.i.237; MN.i.488; gāme vā nigame vā Pp.66
3. as a geographical-political unit in the constitution of a kingdom, enumerated in two sets:
   1. gāma-nigamarājadhāniyo Vin.iii.89; AN.iii.108; Cnd.271#iii; Pv.ii.13#18 Dhp-a.i.90
   2. gāma-nigama-nagara-raṭṭha-janapada Cnd.177, Cnd.304#iii (˚bandhana), Cnd.305 (˚kathā); with the foll. variations: g. nigama nagara MN.ii.33–MN.ii.40; g nigama janapada Snp.995; Vism.152; gāmāni nigamāni ca Snp.118 (explained by Snp-a.178: ettha ca saddena nagarāni ti pi vattabbaṃ)

■ See also dvāra˚; paccanta˚ bīja˚; bhūta˚; mātu˚.

-anta the neighbourhood of a village, its border, the village itself, in ˚nāyaka leading to the village AN.iii.189 ˚vihārin (= āraññaka) living near aN v. MN.i.31, MN.i.473; AN.iii.391 (w. nemantanika and gahapati-cīvara -dhara)- Snp.710; -antara the (interior of the) village, only in t. t. gāmantaraṃ gacchati to go into the v. Vin.ii.300 & in; ˚kappa the “village-trip-licence” (Vin. Texts iii.398) ib. Vin.ii.294, Vin.ii.300; cp. Vin.iv.64, Vin.iv.65; Vin.v.210; -ūpacāra the outskirts of a village. Vin.i.109, Vin.i.110; defined at Vin.iii.46 Vin.iii.200; -kathā village-talk, gossip about v
■ affairs. Included in the list of foolish talks (+ nigama˚, nagara˚ janapada˚) DN.i.7 (see explⁿ at DN-a.i.90); Snp.922. See kathā; -kamma that which is to be done to, or in a village, in ˚ṃ karoti to make a place habitable Ja.i.199 -kūṭa “the village-fraud,” a sycophant SN.ii.258; Ja.iv.177 (= kūṭavedin); -goṇā (pl.) the village cattle Ja.i.194; -ghāta those who sack villages, a marauder dacoit (of corā thieves) DN.i.135; SN.ii.188; -ghātaka (corā = ˚ghāta SN.iv.173; Mil.20; Vism.484; nt. village plundering Ja.i.200. -jana the people of the v. Mil.47-ṭṭhāna in purāṇa˚ a ruined village Ja.ii.102; -dārakā (pl.) the youngsters of the v. Ja.iii.275; f. -dārikā the girls of the v. Pv-a.67; -dvaya, in ˚vāsika living in (these) two vs. Pv-a.77; -dvāra the v. gates, the entrance to the v. Vin.iii.52; Ja.ii.110, Ja.ii.301; cp. Pv-a.67-dhamma doings with women-folk (cp. mātugāma), vile conduct DN.i.4≈(+ methuna) AN.i.211; Ja.ii.180 (= vasaladhamma); Vv-a.11; DN-a.i.72 (= gāma-vāsīnaṃ dhamma?); -poddava (variant reading kāmapudava) a shampooer (? Vin. Texts iii.66; Bdhgh explains: kāmapudavā ti chavi-rāga-maṇḍanânuyuttā nāgarikamanussā gāmaṃ podavā ti pi pādho es’ ev’ attho, Vin.ii.315; Vin.ii.105; -bhojaka the village headman Ja.i.199; Dhp-a.i.69; -majjhe in the midst of the v. Ja.i.199 Ja.vi.332; -vara an excellent v. SN.i.97; Ja.i.138; -vāsin the inhabitant of aN v. Ja.ii.110; Ja.v.107; DN-a.i.72; -saññā the thought of aN v. MN.iii.104; -samīpe near aN v. Ja.i.254 -sahassa a thousand parishes (80,000 under the rule of King Bimbisāra) Vin.i.179; -sāmanta in the neighbourhood of aN v., near aN v. DN.i.101; (+ mgama˚) -sīmā the boundary of the parish Vin.i.110 (+ nigama˚) -sūkara a village pig Ja.iii.393.

Vedic grāma, heap, collection, parish; *grem to comprise; Lat. gremium; Ags. crammian (E. cram) Obulg. gramada (village community) Ohg. chram; cp *ger in Gr. ἀγειρω, ἀγορά, Lat, grex.