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anattukkaṁsakataṁ

anattukkaṁsaka

accusative singular neuter of anattukkaṁsaka (adjective); also written anattukkaṁsakata

1. not praising oneself
2. humble
3. without self-exaltation

Built from

• an — prefix · not, without
  Plain negation; cognate with English 'un-' and Greek 'a(n)-'. Negates the following compound.
• atta — root · self
  Related to Sanskrit ātman and Indo-European reflexive pronouns; the sense of one's own being.
• ukkaṁsaka — stem · exalting, praising
  Composed of ud- (up) + √kas-; the imagery is lifting up or honoring something. Here applied to self-praise.
• taṁ — ending · accusative singular neuter
  Marks the word as neuter object, functioning as an adjectival attribute in accusative agreement with the noun it modifies.

Analysis. an- (not) + attukkaṁsaka (self-praising, from atta 'self' + ukkaṁsaka 'exalting'), with -taṁ as accusative neuter singular ending. The compound attukkaṁsaka itself breaks down as atta ('self') + ukkaṁsaka ('lifting up, exalting'), from ud- (up) + √kas- (praise, honor).

Etymology. atta is cognate with Atman (Sanskrit), related to Latin 'autom-' in autonomy and Indo-European reflexive pronouns. ukkaṁsaka derives from ud- (up, out) + √kas-, showing the concrete image of 'lifting up' one's own worth.

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

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