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bījayamāno

bījayamāna

masc nom sg of bījayamāna (prp)

1. fanning

Built from

• bī — root · shake, agitate
  Causative stem of √bhī 'tremble, be agitated'. Conveys the concrete sense of vigorous motion or shaking, as in separating grain by wind.
• jayamāna — ending · present participle
  Marks the agent as actively engaged in the action; masc nom sg shows agreement with the subject being described as performing the action of fanning or winnowing.

Analysis. bī + jayamāna; bī is the causative stem of √bhī 'fear, tremble', used here in the sense 'to shake or agitate'; jayamāna is the present participle suffix. The compound expresses the action of shaking or fanning (as one does when winnowing grain).

Etymology. √bhī 'to shake, tremble, be agitated' (cognate with English 'be' in the sense of motion/trembling, Sanskrit bhayate). The causative bī- 'to cause to shake' becomes the agent noun. The imagery is concrete: the physical trembling or agitation of fanning or winnowing.

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

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