nelā

nela

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

polite; gentle; inoffensive; lit. without fault

Built from

ne — prefix · not, without
Privative negation. Cognate with Sanskrit na, Greek ne, Latin ne.
la — ending · adjective suffix
Forms adjectives expressing quality or state; -la is a common Pali adjectival ending denoting possession or lack of a property.

Etymology. From ne- (not, privative) + -la (adjective suffix). The root sense is negation: literally 'not-faulty', hence 'without blemish', courteous. Related to Sanskrit nir- (without, away from) and English nether through the Indo-European negator *ne-.

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

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