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phassanirodho

phassanirodha

masc nom sg of phassanirodha (noun)

1. ending of sense contact; cessation of sense experience

Built from

• phassa — root · touch, sense contact
  From √spaś, the perceptual act of touching or sensing; the concrete image is the making contact between sense organ and object.
• ni — prefix · down, into
  The prefix ni- means down or into, here indicating obstruction or blocking being driven down; works like English nether or German nieder.
• rudh — root · obstruct, block
  The root √rudh means to obstruct or stop up; the verbal abstract nirodha is the noun meaning obstruction, cessation, or blocking.
• a — ending · masculine singular
  The thematic vowel -a marks the masculine singular nominative of the ā-stem noun class, used here in the nominative case.

Analysis. phassa (sense contact) + nirodha (cessation, stopping); the compound denotes the cessation of contact between sense faculty and sense object, the third link in dependent origination (paṭiccasamuppāda) where contact ceases.

Etymology. phassa: from √spaś (to touch, perceive), cognate with Latin patior (to suffer, endure through contact). nirodha: from ni- (down, into) + √rudh (to obstruct, block), the verbal abstract meaning obstruction or blocking; the prefix ni- carries the sense of something being driven down and confined. Together: the stopping of touch.

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

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