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pamādo

pamāda

masc nom sg of pamāda (noun); aor 2nd sg of pamādi (verb)

1. pamāda (masc): carelessness; negligence; heedlessness; lit. active intoxication
2. pamādi (aor): was careless (about); neglected; was negligent (with); was heedless (about); lit. was actively intoxicated
3. pamāda (masc): intoxication; inebriation; drunkenness; lit. active intoxication

Built from

• pa — prefix · forth, intensifying
  The prefix pa- carries its sense of forward motion and intensity, turning √mad into an active, propulsive state. Here it emphasizes the heedless momentum that carries one away from mental clarity.
• mad — root · be mad, drunk, intoxicated
  Root √mad means to be intoxicated or out of one's mind. Sanskrit matta 'drunk, mad' and Greek ματη (matē) 'folly' share Indo-European *med- 'move violently, be out of mind'. In Buddhist psychology, pamāda is carelessness as mental intoxication—a dulling of mindfulness.

Analysis. pa + √mad: 'forth-madness' or 'forth-intoxication'. The prefix pa- (forward, forth) intensifies the root mad, shifting from literal drunkenness to the metaphorical 'forward-rushing heedlessness' that carries one away from mindfulness.

Etymology. From pa- (forth, intensifying) + √mad (to be mad, drunk, intoxicated). Sanskrit matta 'drunk, mad' and Greek ματη (matē) 'folly, ruin' share the Indo-European root *med- (to move violently, be out of mind). The spatial sense of pa- 'forth' reframes literal intoxication as carelessness that propels one headlong away from sati (mindfulness).

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

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