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nappahonti

nappahoti

pr 3rd pl of nappahoti (verb)

1. is not able (to); cannot
2. is not sufficient; is not enough (for)

Built from

• na — prefix · not, without
  Plain negation particle. Cognates: English 'no', Greek 'ou'.
• appa — prefix · little, small
  Composed of a- (not) + ppa (much), expressing deficiency or insufficiency.
• hoti — stem · becomes, is
  Present tense stem of √bhū. Cognates: English 'be', German 'bin', Latin 'fui'.
• -nti — ending · 3rd plural
  Regular Pali third person plural present indicative ending, marking the verb as applying to multiple subjects.

Analysis. na + appahoti; na is the negation particle; appahoti is the third person singular form of appahoti (itself a-ppa-hoti, 'not-much-becomes', hence 'is not enough'). The plural nappahonti shows regular Pali morphology with -nti ending for third person plural present.

Etymology. The word combines na (not, without — plain negation, cognate with English 'no', Greek ou) with appahoti. The root is √bhū (become, be), cognate with English 'be', German 'bin', Latin 'fui'. The prefix appa- (little, small) is itself a-ppa, where a- negates ppa (much); thus appahoti literallyRunner 'little becomes' or 'becomes little', hence 'is not enough'. The negative na- at the front intensifies the sense to 'is not able, cannot'.

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

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