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apassato

apassanta

masc dat sg of apassanta (prp); nt dat sg of apassanta (prp); masc gen sg of apassanta (prp); nt gen sg of apassanta (prp)

1. not seeing; not noticing; not aware

Built from

• a — prefix · not, without
  Plain negation; cognates: English un-, Greek a(n)- (atheist). The absence of seeing or awareness.
• pass — root · see, perceive
  From √pas (passati); related to Sanskrit paśyati 'sees'. The concrete image is the eye turning toward an object.
• ant — ending · present participle
  Masculine nominative singular -anta marks a present active participle; in dative and genitive it inflects to agree with its noun.

Analysis. a- (prefix, negation) + passanta (present participle of passati, 'sees'). The participle form describes someone in the state of not seeing or not being aware.

Etymology. The prefix a- is the Pali negation (Sanskrit a-, Greek a(n)- as in English un-, atheist). The root √pas (passati, 'sees') is related to Sanskrit paśyati and likely to Latin passus 'suffered, experienced' (one who has seen, experienced). The combination yields 'not-seeing', the state of ignorance or unawareness central to Buddhist analysis of delusion.

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

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