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paramena

parama

masc instr sg of parama (adj); nt instr sg of parama (adj)

1. highest; most extreme; very best; ultimate; superior; sublime; lit. furthest
2. very worst; most terrible

Built from

• param — root · furthest, beyond
  From *per- in Indo-European. The concrete image is of passing beyond or reaching the furthest point; applied abstractly to mean 'supreme' or 'ultimate'. Cognates: English 'far', Latin 'prior', Greek 'pera' 'beyond'.
• a — ending · nominative stem marker
  The -a ending is the standard masculine/neuter nominative singular suffix in Pali nominal stems.
• ena — ending · instrumental singular
  The -ena instrumental ending marks this as instrumental singular, showing the agent or means by which an action is performed or a state exists.

Etymology. From Indo-European *per- 'forward, through, beyond' (cognates: English 'far', Latin 'primus' 'first', Greek 'pera' 'beyond'). The root conveys the sense of going furthest or passing beyond, hence 'utmost' or 'supreme'. Sanskrit paramaḥ shows the same formation.

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

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