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anupubbena

anupubba

masc instr sg of anupubba (adj); nt instr sg of anupubba (adj)

1. anupubba (adj): gradual; step-by-step; successive; lit. following before
2. anupubbena (ind): gradually; step-by-step; successively; stage-by-stage

Built from

• anu — prefix · along, after
  Trailing behind, following the track. Cognate with Greek ana- in the sense 'along'.
• pubba — stem · before, preceding
  From *per- 'forward'; cognate with English 'far', Latin 'primus'. Spatial sense of what comes ahead is reversed to mean 'before' in sequence.
• ena — ending · instrumental
  Instrumental singular ending (masc./nt.); here used adverbially to express the manner in which an action unfolds.

Analysis. anu- (along, following) + pubba (before, preceding): literally 'following-before', the image of one step trailing behind the preceding one, hence gradual succession.

Etymology. anu + pubba (Skt. pūrva 'before, earlier', from *per- 'forward'; cognate with English 'far', Latin 'primus' 'first'). The prefix anu- ('along, after') fused with pubba to express motion or sequence that unfolds step-by-step, each phase following the one before.

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

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