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abhikkantavaṇṇā

abhikkantavaṇṇa

masc nom pl of abhikkantavaṇṇa (adj); fem nom sg of abhikkantavaṇṇa (adj); fem nom pl of abhikkantavaṇṇa (adj); nt nom pl of abhikkantavaṇṇa (adj); …

1. stunningly beautiful; of extraordinary appearance; lit. surpassing appearance

Built from

• abhi — prefix · toward, beyond
  The directional force of bearing down on or going past a limit; here used intensively to indicate excellence surpassing the ordinary.
• kam — root · go, move
  Motion verb; the prefix abhi- transforms this into 'go beyond, surpass'. Cognate with English come (divergent path from same root).
• ta — ending · past participle
  Forms the participial adjective abhikkanta 'surpassed, gone beyond', which modifies the noun it governs.
• vaṇṇa — stem · appearance, form, color
  The object of surpassing; Sanskrit varṇa covers both color and class. Related to English warn (originally to mark or indicate visibly).

Analysis. abhikkanta (past participle of abhikkamati, 'surpassed, gone beyond') + vaṇṇa (appearance, form). The compound describes beauty that goes beyond the ordinary.

Etymology. abhi- (toward, bearing down on; Latin ob-) + kamati (goes, moves; √kam); vaṇṇa (appearance, color; related to Sanskrit varṇa). The prefix abhi- intensifies the sense of motion, turning kamati into abhikkamati 'transcends, surpasses'. Vaṇṇa is the Indo-European root seen in English warn (to mark or indicate).

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

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