appearance etc (lit. “cover, coating”). There is a considerable fluctuation of meaning, especially between meanings 2, 3, 4. One may group as follows.

1. colour Snp.447 (meda˚); SN.v.216 (chavi˚ of the skin); AN.iii.324 (sankha˚); Thag.13 (nīl’abbha˚); Vv.45#10 (danta˚ = ivory white); Pv.iv.3#9; Dhp-a.ii.3 (aruṇa˚); Snp-a.319 (chavi˚) Vv-a.2 (vicitta˚); Pv-a.215. Six colours are usually enumerated as vaṇṇā, viz. nīla pīta lohitaka odāta mañjeṭṭha pabhassara Pts.i.126; cp. the 6 colours under rūpa at Dhs.617 (where kāḷaka for pabbassara); Ja.i.12 (chabbaṇṇa-buddha-rasmiyo). Groups of five see under pañca 3 (cp. Ja.i.222)
   ■ dubbaṇṇa of bad colour, ugly SN.i.94; AN.v.61; Ud.76; Snp.426; Iti.99; Pp.33; Vv-a.9; Pv-a.32, Pv-a.68. Opp. suvaṇṇa of beautiful colour, lovely AN.v.61; Iti.99. Also as term for “silver.”-As t. t. in descriptions or analyses (perhaps better in meaning “appearance”) in abl. vaṇṇato by colour, with saṇṭhānato and others: Vism.184 (“kāḷa vā odāta vā manguracchavi vā”), Vism.243 = Vb-a.225; Ne.27.
2. appearance SN.i.115 (kassaka-vaṇṇaṃ abhinimminitvā); Ja.i.84 (id. with māṇavaka˚); Pv.ii.1#10 (= chavi-vaṇṇa Pv-a.71); Pv.iii.3#2 (kanakassa sannibha); Vv-a.16; cp. ˚dhātu
3. lustre, splendour (cp. next meaning) DN.iii.143 (suvaṇṇa˚, or = 1); Pv.ii.9#62 (na koci devo vaṇṇena sambuddhaṃ atirocati); Pv.iii.9#1 (suriya˚); Vv.29#1 (= sarīr obhāsa Vv-a.122); Pv-a.10 (suvaṇṇa˚), Pv-a.44.
4. beauty (cp. vaṇṇavant) DN.ii.220 (abhikkanta˚); MN.i.142 (id.) DN.iii.68 (āyu +); Pv.ii.9#10 (= rūpa-sampatti Pv-a.117) Sometimes combined with other ideals, as (in set of 5) āyu, sukha, yasa, sagga AN.iii.47; or āyu, yasa, sukha ādhipacca Ja.iv.275, or (4): āyu, sukha, bala AN.iii.63
5. expression, look, specified as mukha˚; e.g. SN.iii.2, SN.iii.235; SN.iv.275 sq.; AN.v.342; Pv.iii.9#1; Pv-a.122.
6. colour of skin, appearance of body, complexion MN.ii.32 (parama), MN.ii.84 (seṭṭha); AN.iii.33 (dibba); AN.iv.396 (id.); Snp.610 (doubtful, more likely because of its combination with sara to below 8!), Snp.686 (anoma˚); Vism.422 (evaṃ˚ = odato vā sāmo vā). Cp. -pokkharatā. In special sense applied as distinguishing mark of race or species, thus also constituting a mark of class (caste distinction & translatable as “(social) grade, rank caste” (see on term Dial. i.27, 99 sq.; cp. Vedic ārya varṇa and dāsa varṇa RV ii.12, 9; iii.34, 9: see Zimmer, Altind. Leben 113 and in greater detail Macdonell & Keith, Vedic Index ii.247 sq.). The customary enumⁿ is of 4 such grades, viz. khattiyā brāhmaṇā vessā suddā Vin.ii.239; AN.iv.202; MN.ii.128, but cp. Dial. i.99 sq
   ■ See also Vin.iv.243 (here applied as general term of “grade” to the alms-bowls: tayo pattassa vaṇṇā, viz. ukkaṭṭha, majjhima, omaka; cp below 7); DN.i.13, DN.i.91; Ja.vi.334; Mil.225 (khattiya˚ brāhmaṇa˚).
7. kind, sort Mil.128 (nānā˚), cp. Vin.iv.243, as mentioned under 6.
8. timbre (i.e. appearance) of voice, contrasted to sara intonation, accent may occasionally be taken as “vowel.” See AN.i.229 (+ sara); AN.iv.307 (id.); Snp.610 (id., but may mean “colour of skin”: see 6), Snp.1132 (giraṃ vaṇṇ’ upasaṃhitaṃ, better than meaning “comment”); Mil.340 (+ sara).
9. constitution, likeness, property; adj. (-˚) “like” aggi˚; like fire Pv.iii.6#6 (= aggi-sadisa Pv-a.203).
10. (“good impression”) praise Dhp-a.i.115 (magga˚) usually combined and contrasted with avaṇṇa blame, e.g. DN.i.1, DN.i.117, DN.i.174; AN.i.89; AN.ii.3; AN.iii.264; AN.iv.179, AN.iv.345; DN-a.i.37.
11. reason (“outward appearance”) SN.i.206 (= kāraṇa K.S. i.320); Vv.84#6 (= kāraṇa Vv-a.336) Pv.iv.1#6 (id. Pv-a.220); Pv.iv.1#49.

• -āroha (large) extent of beauty Snp.420.
• -kasiṇa the colour circle in the practice of meditation Vb-a.251
• -kāraka (avaṇṇe) one who makes something (unsightly) appear beautiful Ja.v.270.
• -da giving colour, i.e. beauty Snp.297
• -dada giving beauty AN.ii.64
• -dasaka the ten (years) of complexion or beauty (the 3rd decade in the life of man) Vism.619 Ja.iv.497
• -dāsī “slave of beauty,” courtezan, prostitute Ja.i.156f. Ja.i.385; Ja.ii.367 Ja.ii.380; Ja.iii.463; Ja.vi.300 Dhp-a.i.395 Dhp-a.iv.88
• -dhātu composition or condition of appearance, specific form material form, natural beauty SN.i.131 Pv.i.3#1 Pv-a.137 (= chavivaṇṇa) Dhs-a.15
• -patha ‣See vaṇṇu˚
• -pokkharatā beauty of complexion DN.i.114 DN.i.115 AN.i.38 AN.ii.203 Pp.66 Vb-a.486 (defined) Dhp-a.iii.389 Pv-a.46
• -bhū place of praise Ja.i.84 (for ˚bhūmi ‣See bhū²)
• -bhūta being of a (natural) species Pv-a.97
• -vādin saying praise, praising DN.i.179 DN.i.206 AN.ii.27 Vin.i.164 sq. Vin.ii.197
• -sampanna endowed with beauty AN.i.244f. AN.i.288; AN.ii.250 sq

cp. Vedic varṇa, of vṛ: see vuṇāti. Customary definition as “vaṇṇane” at Dhtp.572