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parisuddhā

parisuddha

masc nom pl of parisuddha (pp); fem nom sg of parisuddha (pp); fem nom pl of parisuddha (pp); nt nom pl of parisuddha (pp); …

1. clean; pure; bright; perfect; lit. cleaned all around
2. become pure; cleansed; purified; brightened

Built from

• pari — prefix · around, completely
  The prefix pari- from the root meaning "to go around" conveys wholeness and completion. Cognate with Greek peri- (perimeter) and Latin per-.
• suddh — root · cleanse, purify
  The root √sudh means to clean or make pure. Cognate with Sanskrit śudh and related to English soapsuds; the image is of washing away impurity.
• a — ending · past participle feminine
  The feminine singular nominative ending -ā marks this as a past participle attributing completed action to a feminine subject or object.

Analysis. pari + suddha: pari- "around, all the way round" (completeness) + suddha "pure, clean" (past participle of sodeti, to cleanse). The prefix pari- intensifies the sense of purity to mean "completely pure" or "purified on all sides".

Etymology. From pari- (Greek peri-, Latin per-; connoting completion or motion around) + √sudh (to cleanse, Sanskrit śudh). The root √sudh is cognate with Sanskrit śuddha "pure" and distantly related to English "sud" (soapsuds). In Pali texts, parisuddhā describes ethical and meditative purity that is thorough and complete, especially in the compound parisuddhādhimokkha (complete purified intention).

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

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