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nevattantapo

sandhi contraction (na + eva + attantapo)

1. neither harming oneself; neither self-torturing; neither self-mortifying

Built from

• na — prefix · not, without
  Plain negation. Cognate with Greek a(n)- and English un-.
• eva — root · indeed, certainly
  Particle intensifying negation; comes from roots expressing separation or emphasis.
• atta — root · self, soul
  Sanskrit ātman; both derive from Indo-European *h₂et- 'to breathe', the self as the breathing essence. Cognate with English 'I' and Greek autos.
• tapas/tapo — root · heat, austerity, mortification
  From √tap 'to burn, heat'. The sense shifted from physical heat to the 'burning' discipline of extreme ascetic practice. Cognate with English 'tepid'.
• - — ending · agent noun
  The stem tapas + -o forms an agent noun 'one who practices tapas', here attantapo 'self-mortifier'.

Analysis. na + eva + attantapo: 'not indeed self-mortifier'. A key term in the Buddha's Middle Way teaching: neither self-mortification (attantapo) nor indulgence, but the Noble Eightfold Path. The contraction nevattantapo appears in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (SN 56.11) as part of the rejection of extreme asceticism.

Etymology. attantapo compounds atta 'self' (Sanskrit ātman, cognate with English 'I' via Indo-European *h₂et-; literally 'breathing essence') and tapas 'heat, austerity, mortification' (Sanskrit tapas, from √tap 'to burn', related to English 'tepid'). The prefix na- is plain negation (Greek a(n)-, English un-); eva 'indeed' intensifies the negation. Together they deny the path of self-tormenting asceticism.

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

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