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thinamiddhā

thinamiddha

nt nom pl of thinamiddha (noun); nt instr sg of thinamiddha (noun); nt abl sg of thinamiddha (noun); nt voc sg of thinamiddha (noun); …

1. dullness and drowsiness; sloth and torpor; rigidity and lethargy
2. dull and drowsy; having sloth and torpor

Built from

• thina — root · rigidity, sluggishness
  Akin to Sanskrit sthira 'stiff, firm'; denotes mental and physical heaviness and dullness.
• middha — root · torpor, lethargy
  Related to sinking or softening; expresses the drowsy, sagging quality of the mind when concentration collapses.

Analysis. thina (mental rigidity, sluggishness) + middha (torpor, lethargy); a compound of two synonymous terms denoting the hindrance (nīvaraṇa) of lethargy that clouds the mind in meditation.

Etymology. thina is akin to Sanskrit sthira 'stiff, rigid'; middha may relate to the root mid- 'to be soft, flaccid' or to a base meaning 'sinking down'. Together they form a standard Pali pair for the torpor-hindrance (thīnamiddha-nīvaraṇa) that obscures mental clarity.

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

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