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pahānā

pahāna

nt nom pl of pahāna (noun); nt instr sg of pahāna (noun); nt abl sg of pahāna (noun); nt voc sg of pahāna (noun); …

1. giving up; letting go; removing; abandoning (of); lit. actively abandoning

Built from

• pa — prefix · forth, forward
  Intensifying prefix marking deliberate, complete action. The concrete sense of 'stepping forth' becomes the abstract sense of active relinquishment.
• hā — root · leave, abandon
  Root denoting release or letting go. Cognate with Sanskrit √han 'to strike, leave' and English 'have' in the sense of 'hold (and let go)'. In Pali, always carries the sense of deliberate departure.
• na — ending · abstract noun
  Nominalizing suffix forming an abstract noun from the root. The -na ending marks the gerundive or abstract action noun.

Etymology. pa- (forward, forth) + √hā (to leave, abandon). The prefix pa- intensifies the root's sense of deliberate relinquishment. Sanskrit prahāṇa; cognate with English 'forsake' (Old English forscacan) through Indo-European *ser- 'to leave behind'. In Buddhist doctrine, pahāna is the active abandoning of defilements (kilesa), central to the path to cessation.

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

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