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upakkilesoti

upakkilesa

masculine noun; nominative singular with quotative particle iti

1. impurity; imperfection; flaw; blemish; corruption

Built from

• upa — prefix · near, alongside
  Approach, proximity; here marking a secondary or subsidiary form of something. Cognates: Greek hypo-, Latin sub-, English up.
• kil — root · scratch, pain, defile
  Sanskrit √kṛś 'to scratch, wound'; the concrete image of scratching or wounding carries into the sense of mental defilement or passion (kilesa).
• esa — stem · defilement
  Nominal stem forming kilesa 'defilement, affliction'; -esa may be a nominal suffix.
• iti — ending · quotative particle
  Marks the preceding noun as a saying, name, or concept being cited or defined; often used in doctrinal formulations to frame teachings.

Analysis. upakkilesa + iti: the noun upakkilesa (impurity, corruption) followed by the quotative particle iti, marking direct or reported speech—'impurity', as it were.

Etymology. upa (near, alongside) + kilesa (defilement, passion); literally 'defilement drawn close' or 'secondary defilement'. Kilesa derives from Sanskrit √kṛś 'to scratch, pain'; upakkilesa denotes a minor or proximate corruption of mind, in contrast to major kilesas. The prefix upa- preserves its concrete sense of approach and proximity: what comes alongside the primary afflictions.

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

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