Conceptual proliferation
In Buddhism, conceptual proliferation refers to conceptualization of the world through the use of ever-expanding language and concepts. The translation of papañca as conceptual proliferation was first made by Katukurunde Nyanananda Thera in his research monograph Concept and Reality.
The term is mentioned in a variety of suttas in the Pali canon, such as the Madhupindika Sutta, and is mentioned in Mahayana Buddhism as well. When referencing the concepts derived from this process, such concepts are referred to in Pali as papañca-saññā-sankhā. Nippapañca is the diametrical opposition of papañca.
