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pāragū

masc nom sg of pāragū (noun); masc nom pl of pāragū (noun); masc acc pl of pāragū (noun); masc voc sg of pāragū (noun); …

1. who has gone beyond; who has crossed over
2. master (of); who is profoundly learned (in); who is fully conversant (with); lit. who has gone to the far side

Built from

• pāra — root · far shore, beyond
  Derived from *per- (beyond, across); used in Pali doctrine to mean the far shore of saṁsāra, nirvana, or mastery of a subject. The concrete image of crossing a river to the far shore underlies all figurative uses.
• gū — stem · gone
  Past participle of gacchati (to go); brings the sense of completed action. The compound stacks the imagery: one who has 'gone' all the way 'to the far shore'.

Analysis. pāra (far shore, beyond) + gū (gone); literally 'gone to the far side', used metaphorically of one who has mastered or transcended a field of knowledge or spiritual discipline.

Etymology. Compound of pāra (the far shore, from pāra 'beyond' < *per- beyond) and gū, past participle of gacchati (go). Cognate with Sanskrit pāragū. The spatial imagery of crossing water to reach the far shore becomes the figure for transcendence and mastery: one who has 'crossed over' to the other side has completed the journey.

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

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