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aniccoti

anicca

adj; anicco + iti = 'it is impermanent' (emphatic or proverbial statement)

1. impermanent; inconstant; not lasting; discontinuous; disordered; unstable; unreliable; irregular
2. rare; irregular; unusual
3. (gram) optional; not mandatory; lit. impermanent

Built from

• a- — prefix · not, without
  Plain negation (cognates: English un-, Greek a(n)-).
• nicca — stem · permanent, constant
  Related to Sanskrit nitya 'eternal'; likely from ni- 'fixed, in place' plus a root expressing continuity or establishment.
• -o — ending · nom. sg. masc.
  Nominative singular masculine, used when anicca is stated as a subject or predicate adjective.
• iti — root · thus, so
  Quotative particle marking reported speech or emphatic utterance; makes the preceding adjective into a declarative phrase.

Analysis. anicco (nom. sg. masc. of anicca 'impermanent') + iti (quotative particle 'thus, so'); the phrase functions as a nominal or emphatic utterance, often appearing as a refrain in doctrinal contexts (e.g. 'aniccoti saññā, the perception that "it is impermanent"').

Etymology. a- 'not, without' (negation) + nicca 'permanent, constant'; nicca derives from ni-√ci 'to heap up, collect' or is cognate with Sanskrit nitya 'eternal, constant' (from ni- + √dhā 'to place', hence 'established'). The doctrine of anicca (impermanence) is one of the three marks (tilakkhaṇa) of conditioned phenomena in Buddhist teaching.

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

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