མ་རྗེས་འཇུག་ཅན་གྱི་མིང་ཚིག་གམ་རྒྱན་ཚིག །

It is perhaps well known that adjectives (and substantives) in n-Auslaut (n final sound) are built from their corresponding verbs. For examples:

1. rkun po “thief” from rku ba “to steal”

2. rnon po “sharp” from rno ba “to be sharp”

3. rgan pa “old” from rga ba “to age”

4. mthon po “high” from mtho ba “to be high”

5. dman pa “low” from dma’ ma “to be low”

6. sngon (ma) “previous” from snga ba “to be early”

7. phran “small/minor” from phra ba “to be subtle”

8. chen po “big” from che ba “to be big”

What is perhaps less known is that there are several adjectives or substantives with n-Auslaut derived from their corresponding verb forms. Some are more obvious whereas others are less obvious and some are doubtful. Here are some examples: 

1. skyin pa “payback” from skyi ba “to borrow” (Beyer 1992: 117).

2. gcin pa “urine” from gci ba “to urinate” (Beyer 1992: 117).

3. bkren pa “impoverished” from bkres pa “to be hungry.”

4. gson po “alive/living” from gso ba “to nourish”?  

5. skyon “error/defect” from skyo ba “to be weary/sad” (Beyer 1992: 117)

6. rgyun “continuity/continuum” from rgyu ba “to roam” (Beyer 1992: 117)

7. gnyen “relative” from nye ba “to be close” (Beyer 1992) but really?

8. gdan “seat” from gda’ ba “to be there” (Beyer 1992: 117)

9. rdzun ba from rdzu ba (Beyer 1992: 117)

10. zan “food” from za ba “to eat” (Beyer 1992: 117)

11. ’dun (as in dge ’dun, ’dun ma, etc.) from ’du ba “to gather” (Beyer 1992: 117)

12. bzhon ma “milk cow” from bzho ba “to milk” (Beyer 1992: 117)

13. ’phyon ma “prostitute” from ’phyo ba “sway” (Beyer 1992: 117)

14. blon po “minister” from blo (i.e. blo can “wise”)? Cf. Sanskrit mantrin.

15. mgon po “lord, leader” from mgo “head”?

17. shun pa “skin/rind/chaff” from bshu ba “to peel” (cf. Beyer 1992: 117)