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pisuṇā

pisuṇa

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

  1. (of speech) divisive; defamatory; slanderous; malicious

Etymology. Of uncertain origin. Possibly related to Sanskrit piśuna- 'vile, contemptible', but the connection is opaque. No clear Indo-European cognate. The word belongs to a family of terms for fault-finding and divisive speech (cf. pisuṇavācā 'divisive speech', listed among the five precepts).

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

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