neuter
- sign, omen, portent, prognostication DN.i.9 (study of omens = n. satthaṃ DN-a.i.92, q.v. for detailed expln); Ja.i.11 (caturo nimitte nâddasaṃ); Mil.79, Mil.178 Esp. as pubba˚; signs preceding an event, portents, warnings, foreshadowings SN.v.154, SN.v.278, SN.v.442; Iti.76 (cp. Divy.193, of the waning of a god); Ja.i.48, Ja.i.50 (32 signs before birth, some at DN-a.i.61), Ja.i.59; Mil.298; Vism.577.
- outward appearance, mark, characteristic, attribute phenomenon (opp. essence) DN.iii.249; AN.i.256; AN.iii.319 AN.iii.375 sq.; AN.iv.33, AN.iv.418 sq.; Ja.i.420; Pts.i.60, Pts.i.91 sq., Pts.i.164, Pts.i.170, Pts.ii.39, Pts.ii.64; Vb.193 sq
■ Mental reflex, image (with ref to jhāna) Vism.123, cp. Dhs-a.167
■ Specified e.g. as foll.: oḷārika SN.v.259; pasādaniya SN.v.156; paccavekkhana˚ DN.iii.278; Vb.334; bahiddhā-sankhārā Pts.i.66 sq.; bāla˚ (opp. paṇḍita˚) MN.iii.163; AN.i.102 mukha˚ (= face) DN.i.80; SN.iii.103; SN.v.121; AN.v.92, AN.v.97 sq., AN.v.103; rūpa˚, sadda˚ etc. SN.iii.10; MN.i.296; Pts.i.92 Pts.i.112; samatha˚ DN.iii.213; samādhi˚ etc. AN.i.256 sq. subha˚ (& asubha˚) SN.v.64, SN.v.103 sq.; AN.i.3 sq., AN.i.87, AN.i.200, AN.v.134; Vism.178 sq. nimittaṃ gaṇhāti to make something the object of a thought, to catch up a theme for reflection Vin.i.183, cp. SN.v.150 sq. (˚ṃ uggaṇhāti) MN.i.119 (= five sorts of mental images); Cnd.659; Dhs-a.53 (= ākāra). See below n-gāhin & animitta.; nimittaṃ parivajjeti to discard the phenomenal SN.i.188; Snp.341. - mark, aim: in nimittaṃ karoti to pick out the aim, to mark out Ja.v.436; Cnd.235, Cnd.1#d; Mil.418.
- sexual organ (cp. lakkhaṇa) Vin.iii.129 (n. & a˚, as term of abuse); see also kāṭa & koṭacikā.
- ground reason, condition, in; nimittena (instr.) and nimittaṃ (acc.) as adv. = by means of, on account of Dhp-a.iii.175 (instr.) Pv-a.8, Pv-a.97 (jāti-nimittaṃ), Pv-a.106 (kiṃ n˚ṃ = kissa hetu), P