‹ Back to the text

pattakkhandho

pattakkhandha

masc nom sg of pattakkhandha (adj)

1. slumped over; dejected; lit. fallen shoulders

Built from

• pat — root · fall
  Sanskrit √pat; cognate with English feather and Latin penna, from the image of falling or flight. Here in past participle form.
• ta — ending · past participle
  Transforms the root into an adjective describing a completed action: fallen.
• a — prefix · without, not
  Plain negation. Cognate with English un- and Greek a(n)- (atheist).
• khandha — root · shoulder, aggregate
  Sanskrit skandha, the five aggregates; from √skand to scatter or split. Here used literally as the physical shoulder.

Analysis. patta + akkhandha: patta is the past participle of patati (fall); akkhandha is a-, without, + khandha, shoulder/mass. The compound describes one whose shoulders have fallen away, metaphorically expressing depression or loss of bearing.

Etymology. patta from √pat (Sanskrit √pat, to fall, fly; cognate with English feather, Latin penna, both from the image of something flying or falling). akkhandha from a- (without) + khandha (shoulder, aggregate; Sanskrit skandha, the five aggregates of consciousness; from √skand, to scatter or split). The spatial sense of a- as plain negation (without shoulders) slides into the emotional state of collapse.

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

Lite mode — plain HTML for e-readers and old browsers. Full version