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tiṇukkūpamā

tiṇukkūpama

masc nom pl of tiṇukkūpama (adj); fem nom sg of tiṇukkūpama (adj); fem nom pl of tiṇukkūpama (adj); nt nom pl of tiṇukkūpama (adj); …

1. like a grass torch; similar to a grass torch

Built from

• tiṇu — root · grass
  From √tan- (stretch, spread), cognate with English tan and Latin tendere. Originally denotes shoots or thin stems that spread.
• kūpa — root · torch, blaze
  From √kup- (burn, blaze), cognate with Sanskrit kupyati (becomes agitated, inflamed). The concrete image of a burning torch underlies the metaphor.
• -a — ending · nominative
  Masculine/neuter nominative plural or feminine nominative singular/plural marker, used here in a substantival adjective forming a simile (pama- compound).

Analysis. Compound: tiṇu (grass) + kkūpa (torch, blaze). The doubled -kk- shows assimilation of the stem tiṇu ending in -u to the initial k- of kūpa. The compound expresses a simile commonly employed in the Suttas for impermanence and fragility: as a grass torch burns briefly and is destroyed, so too are conditioned phenomena.

Etymology. tiṇu is from √tan- (stretch, spread, cognate with English tan, Latin tendere); kūpa derives from √kup- (to blaze, burn), related to Sanskrit kupyati (becomes agitated, inflamed). The metaphor is Vedic in origin and appears throughout Buddhist texts as a teaching on anicca (impermanence).

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

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