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paribbājakaṁ

paribbājaka

accusative singular masculine of paribbājaka

1. wandering ascetic
2. homeless mendicant
3. peripatetic religious practitioner

Built from

• pari — prefix · around, about
  Spatial prefix meaning 'all around, going about'. Cognate: Greek peri- (perimeter).
• bbāj — root · go, wander
  Root of motion; the doubling of b is sandhi after the prefix. Related to bhajati 'goes, wanders'.
• aka — ending · agent, one who
  Suffix forming agent nouns; -ka is a common nominalizing suffix denoting 'one who does' or 'one characterized by'.

Analysis. pari + bbājaka (present participle stem of bhajati 'goes, wanders' with doubling of initial b after pari). pari- gives the sense of 'wandering about, going around' and -ka is a diminutive/agent suffix; one who wanders about.

Etymology. pari- (around, about) + √bhaj (to go, wander; cf. Latin fugere 'to flee', though the Pali sense is positive motion rather than avoidance); paribbājaka denotes the wandering ascetics of the Buddha's time who had no fixed abode, distinct from settled monastic communities.

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

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