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rajanīyā

rajanīya

masc nom pl of rajanīya (ptp); fem nom sg of rajanīya (ptp); fem nom pl of rajanīya (ptp); nt nom pl of rajanīya (ptp); …

1. desirable; arousing; enticing; tantalizing; lit. to be desired

Built from

• raj — root · dye, stain, delight
  Literally 'to be coloured or dyed'; figuratively 'to be delighted' or 'to captivate'. The image of the mind being stained or tinged by passion underlies the abstract sense.
• anīya — ending · to be, worthy of
  Gerundive suffix (-anīya / -nīya) forming an adjective meaning 'fit to be —', 'worthy of being —', or 'should be —'. Here it converts the root into a passive adjective expressing what ought to or naturally will arouse delight.

Etymology. Derived from √rajj (to be coloured, dyed, stained, attached) + -nīya (gerundive suffix forming adjectives meaning 'to be —ed'). The root rajj- is cognate with Latin rādix 'root' (originally 'that which is reddened/stained'), both descending from PIE *h₃reǵ- 'to reach, stretch, direct'. In Pali, the semantic shift from 'to dye/stain' to 'to delight/attract' reflects how things that captivate the mind 'colour' or stain it with passion (rāga).

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

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