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vipassino

vipassī

masc nom pl of vipassī (noun); masc acc pl of vipassī (noun); masc dat sg of vipassī (noun); masc gen sg of vipassī (noun); …

1. name of the 6th previous Buddha; lit. insightful; who sees distinctly
2. insightful; discerning; who sees distinctly; lit. seeing distinctly

Built from

• vi — prefix · apart, clearly
  Originally spatial (in different directions), here intensifying perception. Related to Latin dis- (divide) and English dis-.
• passī — stem · seeing
  From √pas- (to see); cognate with Latin patēre (lie open) and English past. The -ī ending marks the masculine nominative/accusative or other cases in the noun declension.

Analysis. vi + passī: vi- (apart, asunder, seeing clearly) + passī (seeing), literally 'seeing apart' or 'seeing distinctly'; in the tradition, one of the epithet-names of the Buddhas, denoting the clarity of insight.

Etymology. The root is √pas- (to see), which appears in Latin patēre (to lie open, be visible) and English past (what is visible behind). The prefix vi- means 'apart' or 'in different directions', originally spatial but here intensifying the sense of seeing into the nature of things. The compound vipassī thus means 'one who sees distinctly' and became the name of the 6th previous Buddha in the traditional list.

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

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