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paṇīte

paṇīta

masc acc pl of paṇīta (pp); nt acc pl of paṇīta (pp); masc loc sg of paṇīta (pp); nt loc sg of paṇīta (pp); …

1. (of food) fine; delicious; excellent; lit. led forward
2. fine; refined; excellent; superior; sublime; lit. led forward

Built from

• pa — prefix · forward, forth
  Intensifying prefix implying forward motion and display; the concrete imagery of leading something forth evolves into excellence or refinement.
• ṇi — stem · lead, display
  Reduced stem of √paṇ-, related to √pan- 'stretch, extend'; the root carries the sense of bringing something forward into view.
• ta — ending · past participle
  Marks the word as a past participle, used here in attributive sense to describe refined or excellent things as 'that which has been led forward' or displayed.

Etymology. Past participle of paṇeti (to lead forward, to display), formed with -ta. The root √paṇ- is related to √pan- (to stretch, extend); the prefix pa- intensifies the sense of forward motion. Cognate with Latin pandō 'spread out' and English pand- (in expand); the notion of 'leading forward' originally meant displaying or stretching out goods (hence 'excellent, refined').

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

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