préfixe (invariable) : sous, en bas, en arrière ; en dehors ; sans
ni- [Sk. ni – & nih – , insep. prefixes: (a) ni down=Av. ni, cp. Gr. neio/s lowland, nei/atos the lowest, hindmost; Lat. nīdus (*ni – zdos: place to sit down=nest); Ags. nēol, nider=E. nether; Goth. nidar=Ohg. nidar; also Sk. nīca, nīpa etc. – (b) niḥ out, prob. fr. *seni & to Lat. sine without]. Nearly all (ultimately prob. all) words under this heading are cpds. with the pref. ni. ↔
A. Forms. 1. Pāli ni˚ combines the two prefixes ni & nis (nir). They are outwardly to be distinguished inasmuch as ni is usually followed by a single consonant (except in forms where double cons. is usually restored in composition, like ni – kkhipati=ni+kṣip; nissita= ni+sri. Sometimes the double cons. is merely graphic or due to analogy, esp. in words where ni – is contrasted with ud – (“up”), as nikkujja>ukkujja, niggilati> uggilati, ninnamati>unnamati). On the other hand a compn with nis is subject to the rules of assimilation, viz. either doubling of cons. (nibbhoga=nir – bhoga) where vv is represented by bb (nibbiṇṇa fr. nir – vindati), or lengthening of ni to nī (nīyādeti as well as niyy˚; nīharati=nir+har), or single cons. in the special cases of r & v (niroga besides nīroga for nirroga, cp. duratta >dūrakkha; niveṭheti=nibbeṭheti, nivāreti=*nivvāreti=nīvāreti). Before a vowel the sandhi – cons. r is restored: nir – aya, nir – upadhi etc. – 2. Both ni & nis are base – prefixes only, & of stable, well – defined character, i. e. never enter combns with other prefixes as first (modifying) components in verb – function (like saŋ, vi etc.), although nis occurs in such combn in noun – cpds. negating the whole term: nir – upadhi, nis – saŋsaya etc. ↔ 3. ni is freq. emphasised by saŋ as saŋni˚ (tud, dhā, pat, sad); nis most freq. by abhi as abhinis˚ (nam, pad, vatt, har).
B. Meanings. 1. ni (with secondary derivations like nīca “low”) is a verb – pref. only, i. e. it characterises action with respect to its direction, which is that of (a) a downward motion (opp. abhi & ud); (b) often implying the aim (=down into, on to, cp. Lat. sub in subire, or pref. ad˚); or © the reverting of an upward motion=back (identical with b); e. g. (a) ni – dhā (put down), ˚kkhip (throw d.), ˚guh (hide d.), ˚ci (heap up), ˚pad (fall d.), ˚sad (sit d.); (b) ni – ratta (at – tached to), ˚mant (speak to); ˚yuj (ap – point), ˚ved (ad – dress), ˚sev (be devoted to) etc.; © ni – vatt (turn back). – 2. nis (a) as verb – pref. it denotes the directional “out” with further development to “away from, opposite, without,” pointing out the finishing, completion or vanishing of an action & through the latter idea often assuming the meaning of the reverse, disappearance or contrary of an action=“un” (Lat. dis – ), e. g. nikkhamati (to go out from) opp. pavisati (to enter into), ˚ccharati (nis to car to go forth), ˚ddhamati (throw out), ˚pajjati (result from), ˚bbattati (vatt spring out from), nīharati (take out), nirodhati (break up, destroy). – (b) as nounpref. it denotes “being without” or “not having”= E. – less, e. g. niccola without clothes, ˚ttaṇha (without thirst), ˚ppurisa (without a man), ˚pphala (without fruit); niccala motion – less, ˚kkaruṇa (heartless), ˚ddosa (fault˚), ˚maŋsa (flesh˚), ˚saŋsaya (doubt˚) nirattha (useless), ˚bbhaya (fear˚). – Bdhgh evidently takes ni – in meaning of nis only, when defining: ni – saddo abhāvaŋ dīpeti Vism 495.
ni pf. à l'intérieur, en bas, sous | manque de, dépourvu de, cessation de.