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āvaṭṭabhayaṁ

āvaṭṭabhaya

accusative singular neuter of āvaṭṭabhaya, a noun compound

1. fear of rebirth
2. dread of the cycle

Built from

• ā — prefix · toward, up to
  Reverses the direction of motion verbs; here indicates emotional fixation on the target (the cycle).
• vaṭṭa — root · rotation, cycle, becoming
  From a root meaning 'to turn' (Sanskrit vartate, Latin vertō). In Buddhist doctrine, vaṭṭa is the wheel of saṁsāra, the round of repeated rebirth.
• bhaya — root · fear, dread
  Cognate with English 'fear' and Sanskrit bhaya; denotes emotional recoil or aversion.

Analysis. ā-vaṭṭa-bhaya: ā (toward, up to) + vaṭṭa (rotation, cycle, becoming) + bhaya (fear). The compound denotes fear centered on the round of rebirth (saṁsāra), the cyclical turning that beings undergo.

Etymology. vaṭṭa derives from a root meaning 'to turn, roll, rotate' (cognate with Sanskrit vartate, Latin vertō 'turn'); bhaya 'fear' is cognate with English fear and Sanskrit bhaya. The prefix ā- emphasizes the directedness of the emotion toward the cycle.

Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.

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