pure

indeclinable before (both local & temporal), thus either “before, in front” or “before, formerly, earlier.” In both meanings the opp. is pacchā -

  1. local SN.i.176 (pure hoti to lead) Ja.ii.153 (opp. pacchima)-
  2. temporal SN.i.200; Snp.289, Snp.311, Snp.541, Snp.645, Snp.773 (= atītaṃ Mnd.33; opp pacchā); Dhp.348 (opp. pacchato); Ja.i.50 (with abl. pure puṇṇamāya). Often meaning “in a former life, e.g. Vv.34#8, Vv.34#13; Pv.i.2#1 (= pubbe atītajātiyaṃ Pv-a.10); Pv.ii.3#2 (cp. purima); Pv.ii.4#2; Pv.ii.7#4 (= atītabhāve Pv-a.101); Pv.ii.9#13
    apure apacchā neither before nor after i.e. simultaneously Pp-a 186 (see apubbaṃ); -puretaraṃ (adv.) first, ahead, before any one else Dhp-a.i.13 Dhp-a.i.40
  3. modal, meaning “lest” DN-a.i.4; cp. purā in same sense Jtm.28.
  • -cārika going before, guiding, leading, only in phrase ˚n katvā putting before everything else, taking as a guide or ideal Ja.i.176 (mettā-bhāvanaṃ); Ja.iii.45 (id.), Ja.iii.180 (khantiñ ca mettañ ca); Ja.vi.127 (Indaṃ); Pp-a 194 (paññaṃ).
  • -java [cp. BSk. purojava attendant Divy.211, Divy.214, Divy.379; also Vedic puroyāva preceding] preceding, preceded by, controlled by (= pubbangama SN.i.33 (sammādiṭṭhi˚); Snp.1107 (dhamma-takka˚, cp Cnd.318).
  • -jāta happening before, as logical category (˚paccaya) “antecedence”; Vism.537 (elevenfold) Tikp. 17; freq. in Dukp. & Tikp. (as ārammaṇa˚ vatthu˚), cp. Vb-a.403 (˚ārammaṇa & ˚vatthuka);
  • -dvāra front door Ja.ii.153.
  • -bhatta the early meal morning meal, breakfast [cp. BSk. purobhaktakā Divy.307] Vv-a.120; Pv-a.109;
    ■*-ṃ* in the morning Vv-a.51; Pv-a.78;
    ˚kicca duties after the morning meal DN-a.i.45 sq.; Snp-a.131 sq.
  • -bhava “being in front,” i.e. superior DN-a.i.75 (in exegesis of porī).
  • -samaṇa one who wanders ahead of someone else Vin.ii.32 (opp pacchā˚).

is the genuine representative (with Māgadhī e) of Vedic puraḥ, which also appears as *puro in purohita, as *pura in purakkharoti. It belongs to base Idg. *per (cp. pari), as in Cr. πάρος before, earlier πρέσβυς “preceding in life,” i.e. older; Ohg. first