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aniccā
anicca
masc nom pl of anicca (adj); fem nom sg of anicca (adj); fem nom pl of anicca (adj); nt nom pl of anicca (adj); …
- impermanent; inconstant; not lasting; discontinuous; disordered; unstable; unreliable; irregular
- rare; irregular; unusual
- (gram) optional; not mandatory; lit. impermanent
- impermanence; inconstancy; instability; irregularity; lit. not permanent
Built from
- a — prefix · not, without
Plain negation, as in avijjā (non-knowing). No concrete spatial imagery here, just the straightforward denial of the quality that follows.
- nicca — root · permanent, lasting, eternal
The root or stem is opaque in Pali; it may derive from an older verb meaning 'to remain' or 'to abide', but no clear Indo-European cognate is available. The word became doctrinally important as the opposite of the Buddha's teaching that all conditioned phenomena are anicca.
Etymology. a- (not) + nicca (permanent, lasting). The root is uncertain; nicca may be related to nij- (to wash, cleanse) or derive from an older form meaning 'to remain, endure', but the connection is not transparent in Pali. The adjective forms one of the three marks (tilakkhaṇa) of all conditioned things (saṅkhāra) in Buddhist doctrine.