‹ Back to the text

nibbuto

nibbuta

masc nom 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/nir — prefix · out of, away
  Directional prefix indicating removal and separation. No common European cognate; cognate with Sanskrit nis.
• vāta/vāna — root · wind, blown
  The image of wind extinguishing flame underpins the meaning. Cognate with Latin ventus and English wind; < Indo-European *we-h₂- (to blow, blow away).
• ta — ending · past participle
  Perfect participle ending marking a completed state. Here it forms a predicate adjective: one whose fires are blown out, hence cooled and emancipated.

Analysis. nis + vāna > nir + vāta > nibbāta > nibbuta: the fire (defilements, saṁsāra) blown out and away, hence extinguished and cooled. The participle nibbuta is predicated of one in whom the fires of greed, hatred, and delusion have been quenched.

Etymology. From nis- (out of, away from) + vāta (wind, blown). Cognate with Latin ventus (wind) and English wind (the breeze). The spatial image—wind blowing out a flame—grounds the doctrinal sense: the extinction of the fires (tayo aggi: lobha, dosa, moha) that fuel saṁsāra. Nibbāna itself embodies the same root: nir-vāṇa, 'the fire (or breath) blown out.'

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

Lite mode — plain HTML for e-readers and old browsers. Full version