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onītapattapāṇiṁ

onītapattapāṇi

accusative singular masculine; a compound adjective modifying a noun in the accusative

1. with hands lowered in the begging-bowl gesture
2. with palms joined in respectful salutation
3. supplicant, one making obeisance

Built from

• o — prefix · down, into
  Variant of ni-; marks downward or inward motion.
• nīta — stem · led, gone
  Past participle of neti (lead) or √i (go); here absorbed into the prefix form.
• patta — root · bowl, vessel
  From √pat (fall); a bowl is what catches or receives things.
• pāṇi — root · hand
  From Indo-European *pend-; cognate with English pendant, pend.
• ṁ — ending · accusative singular
  Marks the object of a verb; here modifying an understood person or a noun in context.

Analysis. onīta (lowered, from ni + √i, gone down) + patta (bowl, alms-vessel) + pāṇi (hand); the compound describes someone holding an alms-bowl with hands in a posture of reverence or supplication.

Etymology. onīta from ni (down, into) + √i (go); patta from √pat (fall, hence receptacle); pāṇi from Indo-European *pend- (stretch, hand). The image is of hands lowered alongside an alms-bowl in the traditional gesture of receiving or asking.

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

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