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nikkujjitaṁ

nikkujjita

past participle (accusative singular neuter) of nikkujjati; can also be nominative singular neuter or accusative plural neuter

1. overthrown, overturned
2. defeated, destroyed
3. laid low, prostrate

Built from

• nis- — prefix · out, away
  From nis (out of), cognate with English nether, German nieder. Suggests forceful removal or displacement.
• kuj — root · bend, curve
  The root underlying kujjita, 'bent' or 'twisted'. Concrete image of being bent or contorted.
• -ita — ending · past participle
  Marks a completed action or state; here, the state of having been bent/curved. In accusative singular neuter, agrees with an understood object or predicate noun.

Analysis. nis- (out, away) + kujjita (bent, crooked, curved), literally 'bent out' or 'made crooked away from': one who is nikkujjita has been knocked down and twisted away from uprightness.

Etymology. The root is √kuj, 'to bend or curve'. The prefix nis- (English nether, German nieder) suggests motion away and out; combined with kuj, it conveys the image of being bent out of shape, thrown down. This captures the sense of violent overthrow.

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

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