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phoṭṭhabbā

phoṭṭhabba

nt nom pl of phoṭṭhabba (noun); nt instr sg of phoṭṭhabba (noun); nt abl sg of phoṭṭhabba (noun); nt voc sg of phoṭṭhabba (noun); …

1. touch; physical sensation; tactile sensation; lit. to be touched
2. tangible
3. touch; physical sensation; tactile sensation; lit. to be touched

Built from

• phoṭ — root · touch, strike
  Sanskrit sphuṭ-, cognate with English sputter. The root conveys the concrete sense of contact or impact.
• ṭh — stem · touch (stem form)
  Gemination of t and aspiration creating the stem base for suffixation.
• abba — ending · capable of being, worthy of
  Gerundive suffix (-abba / -anīya) forming past passive participles. Here it nominalizes the verbal action into an abstract noun denoting the quality or object of touching.

Etymology. Derived from √phuṭ (to touch, strike), with gerundive suffix -abba (capable of being, worthy of being). The root is cognate with Sanskrit sphuṭ- (to burst, strike) and ultimately with English 'sputter' and 'sputter' from Proto-Indo-European *sput- (to spit, spurt). The gerundive sense shifted from 'capable of being touched' to the abstract noun 'touchability' and then to 'touch' as a sensory faculty or object.

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

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