pūtimūlāni

pūtimūla

nt nom pl of pūtimūla (adj); nt acc pl of pūtimūla (adj); nt voc pl of pūtimūla (adj)

rotten at the root

Built from

pūta — root · rotten, putrid
From √pu (to rot). The putrefaction sense is concrete: decay and disintegration. Cognate with Latin putris.
mūla — root · root, foundation
The ground on which things stand, hence figuratively the source or origin. Spatial foundation becomes abstract causal origin in Buddhist doctrine.
āni — ending · neuter plural
The nominative/accusative/vocative plural ending -āni marks the word as neuter plural, agreeing with plural nouns in apposition or predication.

Analysis. Compound: pūta (rotten, putrid) + mūla (root). The adjective describes something whose foundation or origin is decayed or corrupt, often applied figuratively in the canon to views, practices, or persons morally deficient at the source.

Etymology. pūta from √pu (to rot, putrefy) — cognate with Latin putris (rotten), putrefacere (to rot); mūla (root) from Indo-European *mūl-, related to Sanskrit mūla, Greek myia (moss, fungus) as the decay that grows at roots. The compound imagery is spatial: corruption at the foundation spreads upward.

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

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