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mūḷhassa
mūḷha
masc dat sg of mūḷha (noun); masc gen sg of mūḷha (noun); masc dat sg of mūḷha (pp); nt dat sg of mūḷha (pp); …
- foolish person; deluded man; madman; lit. confused
- who is lost; who is disoriented; (comm) who has lost one's bearings; lit. confused
- foolish; deluded; insane; lit. confused
- gone wrong; gone astray; erred; lit. confused
- forgotten; lit. confused
Built from
- muh — root · confuse, lose one's way
The root expresses mental disorientation and bewilderment. Sanskrit mūḍha from the same root shows the widespread Indo-European notion of confusion as mental 'muddying'.
- ḷha — ending · past participle
Past participle suffix marking a state resulting from the action of the root—here, 'one who has been confused', hence 'foolish' or 'deluded'.
- ssa — ending · dative/genitive singular
Case ending marking either dative ('to/for the foolish person') or genitive ('of the foolish person') depending on context.
Etymology. From √muh, 'to be confused or bewildered'. Related to Sanskrit mūḍha (confused, foolish). The root sense is 'to lose one's way mentally'; compare English 'muddled' (from different stock, but semantically parallel—not a cognate).