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pāpakārī

masc nom sg of pāpakārī (adj); masc nom pl of pāpakārī (adj); fem nom sg of pāpakārī (adj); nt nom pl of pāpakārī (adj); …

1. bad; wicked; evil-doing; who does wrong
2. wrong-doer; evil-doer

Built from

• pāpa — root · evil, wicked
  The root sense is harm or pollution. The term pāpa in the Suttas denotes moral wrongdoing, unwholesome deeds rooted in greed, hatred, and delusion.
• kārī — stem · doer, agent
  Agent noun formed from √kar (do, make). The -ī ending marks the masc nom sg and nominalizes the agent function. This productive formation expresses one who performs the action denoted by the verb stem.

Analysis. pāpa (evil, bad) + kārī (doer, maker) — a compound noun denoting an agent: one who performs evil actions.

Etymology. pāpa (evil, wicked) is cognate with Sanskrit pāpa (sin, evil), from Indo-European *peh₂- (to harm, injure); kārī is the agent noun from kāra (action, deed), from the root √kar (do, make), cognate with Sanskrit kāra, Latin crāre (to create), and English craft. The compound expresses agency: one who actively does evil.

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

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