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vidhūpanenapi
vidhūpana
nt instrumental singular + api (emphatic particle)
- fanning; lit. smoking away
- fan; lit. smoking away
- fumigation; lit. smoking away
- flavouring; lit. smoking away
Built from
- vi- — prefix · apart, asunder
Intensive and clarifying prefix; here marks the action as distinctly directed outward (scattering smoke or fragrance).
- dhūp — root · smoke, fume
From √dhūp; the concrete image is smoke rising and dispersing. Sanskrit dhūp- and related words in Indo-European languages share the sense of vapor or mist.
- ana — ending · action noun (gerund)
The -ana suffix forms a gerund or nominalizing suffix from the root, turning the verbal action into an abstract noun (fanning, the act of producing smoke).
- ena — ending · instrumental singular
The -ena ending marks instrumental singular case, answering 'by what means?' or 'with what?'; here 'by fanning'.
- api — prefix · even, also
An emphatic particle (sometimes treated as a clitic or postposition) that adds emphasis or concession to the preceding word; here 'even by fanning' or 'by fanning too'.
Analysis. vidhūpanena (instrumental singular of vidhūpana, 'by fanning') + api ('even, also'), a common Pali construction emphasizing the instrumental noun: 'even by fanning' or 'by means of fanning also'.
Etymology. vi- (apart, asunder) + dhūpana (smoking, from √dhūp 'to smoke'). The prefix vi- gives clarity or intensification to the action of producing smoke or scent. Dhūp is cognate with Sanskrit dhūp- and ultimately traces to an Indo-European root for 'smoke' or 'vapor', though no direct English cognate is standard.