genitive plural of puggala (n.m.)
Analysis. Sanskrit puruṣa, the original meaning 'man, person' is retained in Pali; here the genitive plural denotes possession or relation ('of persons').
Etymology. The root is uncertain; possibly related to Sanskrit puruṣa (man, person), though the Pali form puggala derives through Prakrit sound changes (loss of medial -r-, -ṣ- > -g-). The word may be connected to the verbal root pac- (to cook, ripen) in the sense 'embodied' or 'formed', though this is speculative.
Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.
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