http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/phi....2:1:1516.pali
3. (Often synonymous with ˚patha i. e. way, kind, & sometimes untranslatable) (
a) lit.
way, path, position, place Vin ii.217 (nakkhatta˚ constellation); J i.315 (assama˚ =assama); v.75 (id.), 321 (id.); vi.76 (id.); vi.180 (v. l. patha; C. mahāmagga); mantapada=manta D i.104 (cp. DA i.273). See also janapada, saggapada. -- (
b)
in appld meaning (modal): case, lot, principle, part, constituent, characteristic, ingredient, item, thing, element M i.176 (cattāri padāni 4 characteristics); S i.7 (pade pade "now in this thing, now in that" C. ārammaṇe ārammaṇe), 212 (amataŋ p.=nibbāna); ii.280 (id.); A ii.51 (id.), It 39 (p. asankhataŋ=nibbāna); Sn 88 (dhammapade sudesite; expld as nibbānadhamma SnA 164; dhammapada=Dhamma), ibid. (anavajja -- padāni sevamāna=principles), 700 (moneyyaŋ uttamaŋ padaŋ, thing; but SnA 491 expls as uttama -- paṭipadaŋ), 765; Dh 21, 93, 114 (amataŋ), 254, 368 (santaŋ=nibbānass' etaŋ nāmaŋ, santakoṭṭhāsaŋ DhA iv.108); Pv iv.348 (amataŋ); Nett 2= 192 (nava padāni kusalāni); SnA 397 (nāmādi p.); Sdhp 47 (accutaŋ santaŋ p.), 615 (paramaŋ). See further dhamma˚, nibbāna˚, santi˚, sikkhā˚.
4. a word, verse (or a quarter of a verse), stanza, line, sentence S ii.36 (ekena padena sabbo attho vutto); S iv.379=A v.320 (agga˚); A ii.182 (+vyañjana & desanā); 189 (attha˚ text, motto); iii.356 (id.); Sn 252 (=dhamma -- desanā SnA 293), 374; Dh 273; J i.72 (atireka -- pada -- satena); Nett 4 (akkharaŋ padaŋ vyañjanaŋ, cp. nāmādīhi padehi at SnA 397, which is to be understood as nāma, pada & vyañjana, i. e. word, sentence & letter, cp. Mvyutp. 104, 74 -- 76); Miln 148 (āhacca˚); KhA 169; SnA 409 (ubhaya˚), 444; VvA 3, 13; PvA 10, 26, 117 (word, term). abl. padaso (adv.) sentence by stce or word by word Vin iv.14 (dhammaŋ vāceti=anupadaŋ C.; cp. KhA 190 p. ˚dhamma). At MA i.2 pada (sentence or division of a sentence) is contrasted with akkhara (word), when it is said that the Majjhima Nikāya consists of 80,523 padas and 740,053 akkharas. -- Neg. apada (1) without feet, footless A iv.434 (Māra; v. l. apara); It 87 (sattā,+ dvipada etc.). -- (2) trackless, leaving no footprint, fig. having no desires (i. e. signs of worldliness) Dh 179 (rāga, etc., as padāni DhA iii.197, but cp. also p. 194.)