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nekkhamme

nekkhamma

nt acc pl of nekkhamma (noun); nt loc sg of nekkhamma (noun)

1. renunciation; rejection of sensual pleasure; lit. going out state

Built from

• nis — prefix · out of, away
  Spatial prefix meaning motion away and outward; cognate with English nether. Used in doctrinal terms for transcendence and separation from the world.
• khamma — stem · going, departure
  Abstract noun or gerundive from khamati 'to go, depart'. The concrete sense of physical movement becomes the image for spiritual withdrawal.

Analysis. nis- (out of, away) + khamma (from khamati, to go); literally 'going out', the state of having withdrawn from household life.

Etymology. The prefix nis- (out of, away; cognate with English nether, German nieder) combines with khamma (a gerundive or abstract noun from khamati 'to go, depart'). The concrete image is motion away, outward—the physical act of leaving the household that becomes the spiritual state of renunciation. Sanskrit has nis-krama with the same sense.

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

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