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mahāpaññā

mahāpañña

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

1. mahāpañña (adj): of great understanding; having profound wisdom
2. mahāpaññā (fem): great understanding; profound wisdom

Built from

• mahā — prefix · great, large
  From *meg-, the same root as English much and Greek megas. Intensifies the noun following it.
• pañña — root · wisdom, understanding, insight
  From *prek- "to ask, inquire", evolving into "to discern, understand". Sanskrit prajñā; same root as English price (that which is valued, discerned). In Buddhist psychology, pañña is transcendent wisdom that pierces through ignorance to see the three marks.

Analysis. mahā (great) + pañña (wisdom); a dvandva or descriptive compound emphasizing the supreme quality of wisdom prized in the soteriological path.

Etymology. pañña from √paññ-, related to Sanskrit prajñā and ultimately to Indo-European *prek- "to ask, inquire, understand" (English prize, price); mahā from Sanskrit mahā, from *meg- "great" (English much, mega-). The compound appears frequently in doctrinal contexts to describe the Buddha and advanced practitioners.

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

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