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cakkhuviññeyyā

cakkhuviññeyya

masc nom pl of cakkhuviññeyya (adj); fem nom sg of cakkhuviññeyya (adj); fem nom pl of cakkhuviññeyya (adj); nt nom pl of cakkhuviññeyya (adj); …

1. visible; perceivable by the eye; lit. to be known by the eye

Built from

• cakkhu — root · eye
  From √cakṣ-, the verb 'to see'. Cognate with Sanskrit cakṣus, Greek opsís, Latin oculus, English eye — all from IE *ok- 'to see/eye'. Represents the sense organ of vision in Buddhist analysis of the six sense bases (āyatana).
• vi — prefix · apart, distinctly
  Marks clarity and distinction; here indicating knowledge that is made clear or distinct. Works as an intensive prefix sharpening the sense of 'knowing'.
• ññ — root · know
  From √jñā, cognate with Sanskrit jñā, Greek gnō-, Latin nōscere, English know. The geminate nn (viññ-) is a Pali phonological development.
• eyya — ending · able to be, worthy of being
  Past participle suffix forming an adjective with passive sense '-able, -knowable'. Marks the potential or capability of being known by the eye.

Analysis. cakkhu (eye) + viññeyya (to be known); a dvandva-type adjective: 'knowable by the eye', i.e. perceptible to visual consciousness.

Etymology. cakkhu < √cakṣ- (to see), cognate with Sanskrit cakṣus, Greek opsís (appearance, vision), Latin oculus (eye) — all from Indo-European *ok- (to see, eye); viññeyya is the past participle construction of √jñā (to know), cognate with Sanskrit jñā, Greek gnō-, Latin nōscere (know), English know — together the compound crystallizes 'what is knowable by the eye' as the defining characteristic of visual data in Buddhist epistemology.

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

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