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akusalamūlaṁ

akusalamūla

noun (n.), accusative singular

1. unwholesome root
2. root of unskilfulness
3. basis of what is unskillful

Built from

• a- — prefix · not, without
  Plain negation, removing the quality of wholesomeness. Cognates: English un-, Greek a(n)- (atheist).
• kusala — root · wholesome, skillful
  From Sanskrit kuśala (skillful, adroit). In Buddhist doctrine, kusala refers to actions and mental states that lead to well-being and liberation.
• mūla — root · root, basis
  Cognate with English root and Latin radix, from Indo-European *wrād- (to dig). Signifies the fundamental ground or foundation.

Analysis. a- (not) + kusala (wholesome, skillful) + mūla (root, basis). The compound denotes the fundamental conditions from which unskillful action arises in Buddhist psychology.

Etymology. kusala is related to Sanskrit kuśala (skillful, dexterous); a- is the standard Pali negation (cognate with English un-, Greek a-). The prefix reverses the valence from wholesome to unwholesome. mūla (root) is cognate with English root and Latin radix, all from the Indo-European *wrād- (to dig, branch).

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

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