Pali English Dictionary

by T.W. Rhys Davids and William Stede

As the Pali Text Society began issuing editions and translations of the Pali Canon and Commentaries in quick succession, Rhys Davids conceived the idea of the compilation of an exhaustive dictionary of Pali, based on the voluminous basic material that was being brought to light.

The work took more than twenty years of devoted labour, but before his death in 1992, Rhys Davids had the satisfaction of seeing its first volume published. In four volumes, issued over 1921-24, the Dictionary contains every Pali word, with its Sanskrit root identified and meanings given in English.

Carrying over 1,50,000 textual references, the work holds the field, even today, as the best Pali-English Dictionary.