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āyasmantānaṁ

āyasmant

masculine nominative plural (āyasmantānaṁ is genitive plural, used in vocative sense addressing the venerable monks)

1. venerable (honorific title for senior monks)
2. worthy of life

Built from

• ā — prefix · toward, up to
  Reverses the motion of the root; here, 'up toward life' or 'having come into life/maturity'.
• yus — root · life, vitality
  PIE *yeu- 'vital energy'; cognate with Latin vivus, English 'quick' (formerly 'alive').
• mant — ending · possessing, characterized by
  Suffix -mant- forms adjectives meaning 'full of' or 'possessed of'; here creates the sense 'one who possesses/has attained life.'
• ā — ending · nominative plural marker
  Marks masculine plural nominative; the genitive plural -ānaṁ here serves as a respectful form of address.

Analysis. ā-yus-mant: ā (toward, up to) + yus (life, vitality) + -mant (possessing); literally 'possessing life toward the speaker' or 'one who has attained full life'. The genitive plural āyasmantānaṁ is used in address as a respectful vocative: 'O venerables!' or 'Sirs!' Used throughout the Canon as a formal salutation to monks.

Etymology. From ā (toward) + Sanskrit yus (life, from PIE *yeu- 'vital energy'); cognate with English 'quick' (originally 'alive') and Latin vivus (alive). The suffix -mant- means 'possessing' (like English -man in compounds, or Sanskrit -mat-). The word originally meant 'one possessed of vital force,' and came to be an honorific for those who had lived the monastic life fully and earned respect.

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

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