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aphalo

aphala

masc nom sg of aphala (adj)

1. useless; empty; in vain; unprofitable; lit. fruitless

Built from

• a- — prefix · without, not
  Plain negation. Cognates: English un-, Greek a(n)-.
• phala — root · fruit
  Sanskrit phala; from Indo-European *bʰel- (to swell, grow). Cognates: English ball, belly.

Analysis. a- (without) + phala (fruit): literally without fruit, hence unprofitable or vain.

Etymology. The prefix a- (without, not) is the same negation found in English un- and Greek a(n)-. Phala (fruit) is cognate with Sanskrit phala and ultimately derives from the Indo-European root *bʰel- (to swell, grow), also seen in English ball and belly. The word uses the spatial prefix a- (plain negation of presence) applied to the concrete image of fruit-bearing to mean abstractly 'bearing no result, unprofitable'.

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

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