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andho

andha

masc nom sg of andha (noun); masc nom sg of andha (adj)

1. blind person; lit. dark
2. blind; sightless; visually impaired; lit. dark
3. foolish; ignorant; lit. dark
4. spiritually blind person; ignorant man; lit. dark
5. name of a country; modern Andhra Pradesh

Built from

• andh- — root · blind, dark
  From PIE *h₂endʰ- 'to withdraw, go away, fade', the same root as Sanskrit andha-, Greek anthos 'flower', and English end. The spatial idea of disappearing or fading into darkness underlies both physical blindness and ignorance (loss of clear sight).
• -a — ending · masc nom sg
  Nominative singular masculine ending, marking the word as a bare adjective or substantive in citation form or direct address.

Etymology. From PIE *h₂endʰ- 'to go away, withdraw' (also 'to be dark, dim'), whence Sanskrit andha-, Greek anthos 'flower' (what withdraws from sight into closed buds), Old English ende 'end'. The root's spatial sense 'going away, disappearing into darkness' became the abstract 'darkened, blind'.

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

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