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ācikkhituṁ

ācikkhati

infinitive form (ācikkhituṁ) of ācikkhati, 3rd person singular present

1. to teach
2. to explain
3. to expound

Built from

• ā — prefix · toward
  Reverses the direction: the speaker brings words toward the listener. Cognates: Sanskrit ā; directional prefix meaning 'toward, up to'.
• cikkh — root · tell, say
  Related to √khyā (to manifest, be known); the concrete sense is utterance or making something known to another.
• ituṁ — ending · infinitive
  Infinitive marker (-tu + accusative neuter singular -ṁ) expressing purpose or intention: 'in order to teach'.

Analysis. ā-cikkhati: ā (toward) + √cikkh (tell, say) — motion of words coming toward the listener, hence to speak and explain.

Etymology. √cikkh is akin to √khyā (to be known, manifest); ā- reverses the root's typical direction of knowledge from the subject outward, making it instead move toward the listener. The prefix ā (toward the speaker, up to) transforms this into active teaching.

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

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