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parinibbāyī

parinibbāyi

aor 3rd sg of parinibbāyi (verb); masc nom sg of parinibbāyī (adj); masc nom pl of parinibbāyī (adj); fem nom sg of parinibbāyī (adj); …

1. parinibbāyi (aor): (of an arahant) died one's last death; attained final emancipation; lit. completely blew away
2. parinibbāyī (adj): who has one's last death; who attains final release; who attains final Nibbāna; lit. completely blowing away

Built from

• pari — prefix · completely, around
  Around all the way; peri- in Greek; the sense here is complete, final cessation.
• ni — prefix · out, away from
  Downward and outward; English nether; here fused with the root.
• vā — root · blow, blow out
  The literal image of wind and breath; cognate with Latin ventus 'wind', English weather. To blow out a flame is to extinguish it.
• yī — ending · agent, one who
  Nominalized participle or adjective ending forming an agent noun: 'one who blows out', hence 'one who has attained Nibbāna'.

Analysis. pari + nibbāyī: pari (around, completely) + nibbāyī (one who blows out, passes away into Nibbāna). The prefix pari- intensifies the sense of complete, irrevocable cessation; nibbāyī derives from √vā 'blow' with the prefix ni- 'out', yielding ni-vā-yī 'one who blows out', the fire of craving and clinging extinguished entirely.

Etymology. From pari- (completely, all around) + nibbāna (Pali nis-vāna, lit. 'blown out', from nis- 'out' + √vā 'blow'; cognate with Latin ventus 'wind', English weather). The same root appears in Sanskrit nirvāṇa. The concrete image: the fires of greed, hatred, and delusion blown out entirely, leaving no residue.

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

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