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telapajjotaṁ

telapajjota

accusative singular masculine of telapajjota (a compound noun); surface form telapajjotaṁ

1. oil lamp
2. torch fueled by oil

Built from

• tela — root · oil
  Pressed or extracted substance; cognate with Sanskrit taila and distantly with English 'tall' (as in tallow, rendered fat).
• pa — prefix · forth, out
  Spatial prefix marking emergence or intensity; here, light that shines out and forth.
• jjota — root · shine, burn
  Cognate with Sanskrit jyoti (light, splendor); depicts radiant energy bursting forth.
• ṁ — ending · accusative singular
  Marks the object of a verb (e.g., 'sees the oil-lamp'); masculine form.

Analysis. tela (oil) + pajjota (flame, light); pajjota itself from pa- (forth, out) + √jot (shine, burn), so 'flame that shines forth'; the compound denotes a light-giving vessel containing oil.

Etymology. tela from Sanskrit taila, ultimately from Indo-European *tel- (to lift, bear — oil as something pressed/extracted). pajjota: pa- (forth) + √jot, cognate with Sanskrit jyoti (light, flame). The metaphor is spatial: light burning forth from the oil-vessel.

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

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