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avakujjo

avakujja

masc nom sg of avakujja (adj)

1. face down; head first; lit. turned down
2. facing down; looking downward; inverted; lit. turned down

Built from

• ava — prefix · down, downward
  Spatial direction, from ava (down, off). Cognates: Latin au- (aufero 'carry off'). Here it marks the direction of the bending or turning.
• kujja — root · bent, crooked, curved
  Related to Sanskrit kuñcati 'bends' and kuñjara 'elephant' (which curves its trunk). The root conveys the image of something bent or curved out of normal shape.

Analysis. ava- (down, downward) + kujja (bent, crooked); literally 'bent downward', hence 'turned face-down or head-first'.

Etymology. ava- is the downward prefix (English down, German ab); kujja is related to Sanskrit kuñjara 'elephant' and kuñcati 'bends, curves', from a root meaning 'to bend or curl'. The compound describes physical inversion or downward curvature.

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

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