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arahattamaggaṁ

arahattammagga

accusative singular masculine of arahattammagga (compound noun)

1. the path to arahantship
2. the noble eightfold path leading to perfection
3. the way of the arahant

Built from

• arahatta — stem · arahantship, perfection
  Nominalized state from arahant (one gone beyond, perfected one); the -tta suffix forms abstract nouns from adjectives and participles.
• magga — stem · path, way
  From √mṛg, the concrete path or track one walks; in Buddhist idiom, the systematic practice leading to awakening.
• ṁ — ending · accusative singular
  Object of a verb such as paṭipajjati (pursues) or pathamaṁ (chooses) in doctrinal contexts.

Analysis. arahatta (the state of being an arahant, fr. arahant + -tta abstract suffix) + magga (path, way); lit. 'the path of arahantship'; the compound denotes the Buddhist path culminating in the highest spiritual attainment.

Etymology. arahant is of uncertain origin, possibly from Aramaic or an older Indic substrate; magga derives from √mṛg 'to track, go' (cognate with English 'march', Latin mergere), lit. 'the way one tracks/travels'.

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

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