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vikkhittaṁ

vikkhitta

neuter singular nominative/accusative of vikkhitta, past participle of vikkhipati

1. scattered, dispersed
2. distracted, inattentive
3. flung away, thrown aside

Built from

• vi- — prefix · apart, asunder
  Marks scattering or dispersion in different directions; related to Latin dis- and English divide.
• kkhitta — root · scattered, thrown
  Past participle of √khip 'throw'; the concrete sense of hurling becomes the abstract sense of mental distraction.

Analysis. vi- (apart, asunder) + kkhitta (scattered, past participle of khipati 'throws'). The prefix vi- marks the scattering in different directions.

Etymology. √khip 'throw' with the prefix vi- 'apart'. The concrete image is of objects flung in different directions; in doctrinal usage it describes the mind thrown about by distraction (vikkhittacitta, scattered mind), opposed to samādhi (collectedness).

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

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