Hi Bryan,
Since quite a few possibilities for the derivation of nimitta have been put
forward, I would place the word in the category of ruḷhināma as a bandaid
solution. It would not lend itself to all this guessing if it were an
anvatthanāma whereby the meaning is in harmony with all the internal
constituents of the word in denoting the object.
For one last search, I looked up nimitta in the Pāḷi-Myanmar dictionary, Vol
12, pp. 537-40. There are two separate entries meaning that we have 2
homynyms. The second entry is to its meaning in the sense of aṅgajāta and
the derivation is ni + miha + ta (miha secane) quoted from Abh-ṭ 273. The
first entry quotes its derivation from Abh-ṭ 92 and adds the suffix ta: ni +
mā + ta. A second derivation then follows: ni + mi + ta (no meaning for mi
is provided).
I think this should be enough on the term for awhile.
Best wishes,
Jim
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bryan Levman bryan.levman@... [palistudy]"
<palistudy@yahoogroups.com>
To: <palistudy@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: September 28, 2016 1:37 AM
Subject: Re: [palistudy] Nimitta
Thanks Jim, Yes -d + -ta asa p.p. > -nna as in pad panna, sid sanna, etc.,
so my guess isthat this is not a past participle, but an instrumental -tra
suffix. MW says that mitra ("friend")is derived from the verb mith ormid
(mit-tra), which, assuming themeaning "unite, pair, couple meet" (mith)
gives the etymological meaningof "that by which one unites" or "means of
uniting". This is a common structure in Skt. and Pali with the suffix
indicatingthe means or instrument of the action expressed by the root. So
gātra(“limb”, P gatta), the meansof going, pattra (“wing”, P. patta) the
means of flying, pātra(“cup”, P. patta) the meansof drinking, yoktra (“bond”,
P. yotta) the means of binding, vastra(“garment”, P. vattha), themeans of
wearing, śrotra (“ear”, P. sota), the means of hearing, etc.
So perhaps ni-mitta is simply ni-mitra with the meaning of"a means of
pairing" or "a means of uniting", as the wholepurpose of the nimitta is
unification of the mind by uniting the paṭibhāga-nimitta with meditator and
entire universe. The ni-prefix would simply have the sense of "down, back,
in, into,within" (MW) to emphasize the pervasive aspect of the process.
Anyways, it's a possibilityand the derivation works phonologically and
historically, but of course there is no attested form in Skt. of nimitra
(small problem!) All the othermeanings of nimitta would then arise because
of the conflation with the otherroots (or metaphorical layers of nimitra) as
already discussed. What do you think?
Best wishes,
Bryan
From: "'Jim Anderson' jimanderson.on@... [palistudy]"
<palistudy@yahoogroups.com>
To: Pali Study Group <palistudy@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2016 4:43 PM
Subject: Re: [palistudy] Nimitta
Hi Bryan,
Thanks for showing the many possible ways in which "nimitta" could be
derived. The information I found for the Sanskrit derivation comes from the
follwoing dictionary which is on the same website as MW: