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nerayikā

nerayika

masc nom pl of nerayika (noun); masc instr sg of nerayika (noun); masc abl sg of nerayika (noun); masc voc sg of nerayika (noun); …

1. denizen of hell; inhabitant of hell
2. born in hell; living in hell; related to hell
3. destined for hell; to be reborn in hell

Built from

• nera — root · hell
  From Sanskrit naraka, originally denoting a place of torment. The root nṛ (man) underlies it, suggesting the primordial sense of a realm where men endure suffering.
• yika — ending · belonging to, characterized by
  A nominal suffix forming adjectives; it attaches to nouns to create agent nouns or adjectives denoting 'one who inhabits' or 'one characterized by' the referent.

Analysis. nera + yika; nera is the Pali form of Sanskrit naraka (hell, from √nṛ 'man' in the sense of a place where men suffer), and yika is a nominal suffix forming adjectives meaning 'belonging to' or 'characterized by'. The compound thus means 'one belonging to hell' or 'characterized by hell'.

Etymology. nera (hell) derives from Sanskrit naraka, which comes from √nṛ (man), as hell was conceived as a place of human suffering. The suffix -yika is an agent and quality marker. No direct Indo-European cognates illuminate this, as the word is rooted in the Sanskrit mythology of the underworld.

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

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