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anavassavā

anavassava

masc nom pl of anavassava (noun); masc instr sg of anavassava (noun); masc abl sg of anavassava (noun); masc voc sg of anavassava (noun); …

1. no outflow; no result; no effect; lit. not flowing down

Built from

• an — prefix · not, without
  Plain negation. Cognate with English un-, Greek a(n)-.
• ava — prefix · down, off, downward
  Concrete spatial sense: liquid or substance moving downward and away. Cognate with Latin au- (in aufero 'carry off'), English off.
• sav — root · flow, swell, ooze
  Sanskrit √sru 'flow'; cognate with Latin sorbēre 'sip, drink', English sip, all from PIE *swerbh-.
• a — ending · masc nom pl or instr sg
  Nominal inflection marking case and number in the masculine stem class.

Analysis. an- (not, without) + avassava (outflow, effluent); lit. 'non-flowing-down'. The word denotes the Buddhist ideal of one who has ceased leaking mental defilements, especially in the phrase anāsava used of the arahant.

Etymology. Prefixed negation an- (from a-, 'not') + avassava, from ava (down, off) + √sav / √svi (to flow, swell). Sanskrit ava-srava, with cognates in Latin sorbēre 'sip, drink up' and English 'sip', all from PIE *swerbh- 'to sip, absorb'. The spatial image is concrete: defilements flowing downward out of the mind; cessation of that flow marks enlightenment.

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

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