mukha

  1. the mouth Snp.608, Snp.1022 (with ref. to the long tongue, pahūta-jivha, of the Buddha or Mahāpurisa) Ja.ii.7; DN-a.i.287 (uttāna˚ clear mouthed, i.e. easy to understand, cp. DN.i.116); Pv-a.11, Pv-a.12 (pūti˚), Pv-a.264 (mukhena).
  2. the face Ja.vi.218 (uṇṇaja m.); Pv-a.74, Pv-a.75, Pv-a.77; ˚ṃ karoti to make a face (i.e. grimace Vism.343
    adho˚; face downward Vin.ii.78; opp upari˚; (q.v.); assu˚; with tearful face Dhp.67; Pv-a.39 see assu
    dum˚; (adj.) sad or unfriendly looking Ja.ii.393; Ja.vi.343; scurrilous Ja.v.78; bhadra˚; brightfaced Pv-a.149; ruda˚; crying Pv.i.11#2.
  3. entrance, mouth (of a river) Mhvs.8, Mhvs.12; āya˚; entrance (lit opening), i.e. cause or means of income DN-a.i.218 ukkā˚; the opening of a furnace, a goldsmith’s smelting pot AN.i.257; Snp.686; Ja.vi.217; Ja.vi.574. ubhato-mukha having 2 openings MN.i.57. sandhi˚; opening of the cleft Pv-a.4. Hence:
  4. cause, ways, means, reason, by way of Ja.iii.55 by way of a gift (dānamukhe), Ja.iv.266 (bahūhi mukhehi)
    apāya˚; cause of ruin or loss AN.ii.166; AN.iv.283.
  5. front part, front, top, in īsā˚; of the carriage pole SN.i.224 = Ja.i.203. Hence
  6. the top of anything, front, head, best part; adj topmost, foremost Snp.568 (aggihutta-mukhā yaññā), Snp.569 (nakkhattānaṃ mukhaṃ cando; cp. Vin.i.246) Vb-a.332 (= uttamaṃ, mukha-bhūtaṃ vā)
    ■ Der. adj mokkha & pāmokkha; (q.v.). Note. A poetical instr sg. mukhasā is found at Pv.i.2#3 & Pv.i.3#2, as if the nom were mukho (s-stem)
    ■ The abl. mukhā is used as adv. “in front of, before,” in cpd. sam˚ & param˚;, e.g. Pv-a.13. See each sep.

-ādhāna 1 the bit of a bridle MN.i.446; (2) setting of the mouth, i.e. mouth-enclosure, rim of the m.; in m siliṭṭhaṃ a well-connected, well-defined mouth-contour Dhs-a.15 (not with trsl. “opens lightly,” but better with note “is well adjusted,” see Expos. 19, where write ˚ādhāna for ˚ādāna). -āsiya (? cp. āsita1) to be eaten by the mouth Dhs-a.330 (mukhena asitabba) -ullokana looking into a person’s face, i.e. cheerful bright, perhaps also flattering Dhp-a.ii.193 (as ˚olokana) -ullokika flattering (cp. above) Mnd.249 (puthu Satthārānaṃ m. puthujjana); Pv-a.219. -odaka water for rinsing the mouth Cnd.39#1 = Mil.370; Vv-a.65; Dhp-a.ii.19; Dhp-a.iv.28. -ja born in (or from) the mouth, i.e. a tooth Ja.vi.219. -tuṇḍa a beak Vv-a.227 [cp. BSk mukhatuṇḍaka Divy.387]. -dugga one whose mouth is a difficult road, i.e. one who uses his mouth (speech badly Snp.664 (variant reading ˚dukkha). -dūsi blemishes of the face, a rash on the face DN-a.i.223 (m dosa ibid.) -dvāra mouth opening Pv-a.180. -dhovana-ṭṭhāna place for rinsing the mouth, “lavatory” Dhp-a.ii.184 -puñchana wiping one’s mouth Vin.i.297. -pūra filling the mouth, a mouthful, i.e. as much as to fill the mouth Ja.vi.350. -pūraka mouth-filling Vism.106 -bheri a musical instrument, “mouth-drum,” mouthorgan (?) Cnd.219 B; Snp-a.86. -makkaṭika a grimace (like that of a monkey) of the face Ja.ii.70, Ja.ii.448 (T makkaṭiya). -vaṭṭi “opening-circumference,” i.e. brim, edge, rim Dhp-a.ii.5 (of the Lohakumbhi purgatory cp. Ja.iii.43 lohakumbha-mukhavaṭṭi); Dhp-a.iii.58 (of a gong). -vaṇṇa the features Pv-a.122, Pv-a.124. -vikāra contortion of the mouth Ja.ii.448. -vikūṇa (= vikāra grimace Snp-a.30. -saṅkocana distortion or contraction of the mouth, as a sign of displeasure Dhp-a.ii.270 cp. mukha-sankoca Vism.26. -saññata controlling one’s mouth (i.e. speech) Dhp.363, cp. Dhp-a.iv.93.

Vedic mukha, fr. Idg. *mu, onomat., cp. Lat. mu facere, Gr. μυκάομαι, Mhg. mūgen, Lat. mūgio to moo (of cows), to make the sound “moo”; Ohg māwen to cry, muckazzen to talk softly; also Gr. μϋχος word, “myth”; Ohg. mūla = Ger. maul; Ags. mule snout, etc. Vedic mūka silent, dumb = Lat. mutus = E mute