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phassanidānā

phassanidāna

masc nom pl of phassanidāna (adj); fem nom sg of phassanidāna (adj); fem nom pl of phassanidāna (adj); nt nom pl of phassanidāna (adj); …

1. having sense contact as origin; lit. contact source

Built from

• phassa — root · sense-contact, touching
  From *spharsa- (cognate with Sanskrit sparśa). The concrete sense of making contact with sense-objects through eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.
• ni — prefix · down, into
  Prefix meaning downward placement, foundation. Cf. English 'nether'; preserves the spatial imagery of what is laid down as a base or cause.
• dā — root · place, give
  Root √dā (to place, put, give); cognate with Sanskrit dā and English 'do'. Here 'placed down' as a foundation or origin.
• na — ending · nom sg/pl (adj)
  Adjectival ending. Forms the attributive sense 'having X as origin'.

Analysis. phassa (sense-contact) + nidāna (origin, cause); a compound adjective meaning 'having contact as its root cause'

Etymology. phassa < *spharsa- (touching, contact; cf. Sanskrit sparśa); nidāna from ni- (down, into) + √dā (to place, give), literally 'that which is placed down [as foundation]', hence origin or source—the prefix ni- preserves the imagery of foundation and causation. The pair phassa-nidāna appears throughout the Suttas as a key link in dependent origination (paṭiccasamuppāda), naming contact as the proximate cause of vedanā (feeling).

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

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