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avimuttaṁ

avimutta

nominative singular neuter past participle of avimuccati, or accusative singular neuter

1. not freed
2. unfree
3. bondage

Built from

• a — prefix · not, without
  Plain negation. No liberation has occurred.
• vi — prefix · apart, asunder
  Suggests breaking apart, separation, or release. Here it is part of the verb stem vi-muccati, 'to free by breaking asunder'.
• mucc — root · release, free
  From √mucc, 'to let loose, release'. Cognate with muck (filth to be cleared).
• ta — ending · past participle
  Transforms the root into an adjective meaning 'freed' or 'released'; negated by the prefix a-, making it 'not freed'.

Analysis. avi-mutta: a- (not) + vi- (apart, asunder) + mutta (freed, past participle of muccati 'to release'). The word negates the sense of liberation achieved through freeing or breaking asunder (vi-muccati 'to release, free'; the prefix vi- suggests 'breaking apart' bonds or constraints).

Etymology. From muccati 'releases, frees' (related to English 'muck' and German 'Muck' in the sense of filth to be cleared away; Sanskrit muñcati); prefixed with a- (negation) and vi- (apart, asunder). In Buddhist doctrine, avimutta denotes the state of being still bound, not yet liberated from saṁsāra.

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

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