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samphappalāpā

samphappalāpa

masc nom pl of samphappalāpa (noun); masc instr sg of samphappalāpa (noun); masc abl sg of samphappalāpa (noun); masc voc sg of samphappalāpa (noun); …

1. frivolous chatter; talking rubbish; gossip; idle speech; lit. talking grass

Built from

• sam — prefix · together
  Intensive and collective prefix. Things brought into one unified action or state.
• phappalāpa — stem · chatter, grass-talk
  Reduplication or intensified form denoting empty, lightweight speech; phalāpa/pāpala is grass or chaff, imagery of worthlessness.

Analysis. sam + phappalāpa. Saṁ- (together) + phappalāpa, a reduplication or intensification of phalāpa or pāpala (grass, chaff). The compound depicts empty talk as insubstantial as blown grass or chaff tumbling together without meaning.

Etymology. From sam- (together; works like Latin con-) + phappalāpa, a reduplication suggesting lightness and worthlessness (grass, chaff). The core phalāpa or pāpala relates to grass and straw — material imagery of emptiness. No clear European cognate, but compare German Flaum (fluff, down) for the sense of lightness and insubstance.

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

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