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nibbute

nibbuta

masc acc pl of nibbuta (pp); nt acc pl of nibbuta (pp); masc loc sg of nibbuta (pp); nt loc sg of nibbuta (pp); …

1. (of mental defilement) quenched; emancipated; cooled; lit. blown away
2. (of fire) extinguished; quenched; put out; gone cold; lit. blown away
3. (of an arahant) died one's last death; attained final emancipation; lit. blown away

Built from

• nis — prefix · out, away
  Spatial prefix signifying removal or dispersal. The defilements are driven away; the flame is blown out.
• vā — root · blow, fan
  The concrete image of wind or breath extinguishing flame. From √vā (to blow).
• ta — ending · past participle
  Suffix marking completed action; here, the state of being blown out, quenched, emancipated.

Analysis. nis + vāta, the fire blown out; here past participle of the verb nibbāyati (to be extinguished, to become emancipated).

Etymology. From nis- (out, away) + vāta (blowing, wind, from √vā 'to blow'). The concrete image is of a flame extinguished by wind; in doctrine, the blowing-out of craving and defilement, hence nibbāna (nirvana) and nibbuta (emancipated, cooled). The spatial prefix nis- keeps its sense of removal: the fire is blown away, the defilements are scattered. Cognate: Sanskrit nir-vāṇa.

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

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