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paṭinissaggānupassī

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

1. observing letting go; watching relinquishment; contemplating giving up

Built from

• paṭi — prefix · back, against
  Directional prefix denoting reversal or counter-motion; tracks the movement of relinquishing.
• nis — prefix · out, away
  Indicates emergence or extraction; combined with √gam, 'going out', hence 'letting go'.
• gga — root · go
  Sanskrit √gam; appears here fused with nis. Cognate with Latin venio and Greek βαίνω.
• anu — prefix · along, after
  Directional prefix indicating following or accompanying; here introduces the observer's stance.
• passī — stem · one who sees
  Agent noun from √pass (to see); the -ī ending marks masculine nominative singular adjective form, naming the contemplative observer.

Analysis. paṭi-nissa-gga-anu-passī: a compound of paṭinissagga (relinquishment, abandonment of craving) and anupassī (one who observes). paṭinissagga itself is paṭi (back, against) + nis (out of) + √gam (go) in the sense of 'letting go back' or 'releasing'; anupassī is anu (along after, following) + √pass (see), 'one who watches along with'.

Etymology. The root √pass (to see) cognates with English peer and German Paar in the sense of looking; √gam (to go) is an ancient root found in Latin venio (from *gwem-) and Greek βαίνω (bainō). The prefix paṭi- (back, against) derives from Proto-Indo-European *pret-i, related to Latin preti- and Greek proti (toward, against). The compound expresses the contemplative stance that follows the path of letting-go taught in the canon.

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

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