‹ Back to the text

acapalā

acapala

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

1. steady; steadfast; consistent; reliable; lit. not shaking forward

Built from

• a — prefix · not, without
  Plain negation. Cognates: English un-, Greek a(n)-.
• capala — root · shaking, trembling
  Related to Sanskrit capala. Onomatopoetic root denoting rapid, unstable movement; applied to the mind and character to mean fickleness or steadiness when negated.

Etymology. a- (not) + capala (shaking, trembling). Capala is related to Sanskrit capala of the same meaning; the root is onomatopoetic, imitating rapid movement. The compound means literally 'not-shaking', hence stable and reliable.

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

Lite mode — plain HTML for e-readers and old browsers. Full version