‹ Back to the text

opilāpetvā

absolutive of opilāpeti (causal of opilāyati)

1. having immersed; having submerged (in water); lit. having caused to float down

Built from

• o — prefix · down
  Prefix ava- 'down, downward, off' (cognate English off, down). The concrete imagery of weight sinking downward into water.
• pilāy — stem · float, swim
  Root √pla- related to floating or water motion; opilāyati means to sink down or float away.
• ā — prefix · toward
  The prefix ā- here functions within the causal formation, reversing or intensifying the action.
• pe — ending · causal
  Causal suffix -āpeti 'cause to X'; here 'cause to sink or float down'.
• tvā — ending · absolutive
  Absolutive marker -tvā indicates a completed action preceding the main verb, answering 'how?' or 'having done what?'.

Analysis. o- (ava- 'downward') + pilāyati (to float, swim) + -āpeti (causal suffix) + -tvā (absolutive ending). The prefix ava- meaning 'down' fuses with pilāyati to form opilāyati 'sink down', then the causal -āpeti makes it 'cause to sink/submerge', and -tvā marks the absolutive.

Etymology. From ava- 'down' (English down, off) + √pla- related to floating or drifting (Sanskrit plava- 'floating', perhaps cognate with Latin plumbum 'lead' via motion of weight sinking). The causal -āpeti derives from √āp- 'reach, obtain'.

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

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