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nimittā

nimitta

nt nom pl of nimitta (noun); nt instr sg of nimitta (noun); nt abl sg of nimitta (noun); nt voc sg of nimitta (noun); …

1. mark; sign; symbol; indication; lit. measured down
2. mental feature; aspect of experience; lit. measured down
3. sign; omen; portent; lit. measured down
4. (interpretation of) signs; omens; portents; lit. measured down
5. cause; reason; foundation; basis; lit. measured down
6. meditation object; theme of contemplation; mental hyperlink; lit. measured down
7. sexual organ; lit. measured down
8. hint; suggestion; clue; lit. measured down

Built from

• ni — prefix · down, into
  Marks something as fixed, determined, or driven down—here, the idea of something standing out as marked or delimited.
• mitt — root · measure, mark
  Cognate with English mete, Latin metior. The root conveys the concrete act of measuring or marking a boundary.
• a — ending · neuter nominative singular
  Neuter nominative singular ending, here appearing across multiple cases as a result of Pali's noun declension system (neut. nom. pl., instr. sg., abl. sg., voc. sg., gen. sg. all take the same form).

Etymology. From ni- (down, into) + meti (to measure), literally "measured down" or "marked out". The prefix ni- conveys the sense of fixing or determining something (like a stake driven down to mark a boundary), while the root meti (cognate with English "mete", Latin metior "measure") suggests the concrete act of delimiting. In Buddhist psychology, a nimitta is a marked mental feature—a sign that the mind seizes upon and measures against itself; in meditation, it becomes the object around which attention crystallizes; in interpretation, it is a portent precisely because it stands out as marked or significant.

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

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