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ñātamanussānaṁ

ñātamanussa

genitive plural (ñātamanussa + nominative plural marker -ānañ/aṁ)

1. of relatives/kinfolk
2. of acquaintances
3. of known people

Built from

• ñāta — root · known
  Past participle of √ñā 'to know'. The root belongs to the IE family of gnōscere and English know.
• manussa — stem · human
  From IE *man- (man, mind). In compounds, frequently forms relational terms denoting people in a specific category.
• ānañ/aṁ — ending · genitive plural
  Marks the word as genitive plural, showing possession or relation ('of the known people'). In compounds it typically agrees with the case and number of a head noun in context.

Analysis. ñāta (past participle of ñānāti 'knows') + manussa (human being); 'known humans', i.e. relations and close acquaintances. The form is a bahuvrīhi or tatpuruṣa compound.

Etymology. ñāta from √ñā (to know), cognate with Latin gnōscere (know), Greek gnōsis (knowledge), English know; manussa from Indo-European *man- (man, mind), seen in man, Latin manus (hand, as in 'handled by mind'). The compound idiomatically denotes family members and people of one's circle.

Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.

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