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attāti

atta

masc; nominative singular + iti (quotative particle)

1. self; soul; spirit; essence
2. personal; related to oneself
3. taking up; accepting; seizing; grasping; lit. taken
4. taken up; accepted; seized; grasped
5. (gram) the negative prefix a; lit. na state
6. body; form

Built from

• atta — root · self, essence
  The reflexive pronoun 'self', used in Pali for one's own being, person, or soul. Centrally opposed to anattā (non-self) in the Buddha's teaching.
• iti — ending · thus, quotative
  The quotative particle, marking direct speech, thought, or a closed idea; it frames and delimits what is said or conceived.

Analysis. atta + iti: nominative singular masculine of atta 'self' followed by the quotative particle iti 'thus, so', used to introduce or close direct speech, quotations, or nominalized thoughts; a common Pali formula marking the boundary of cited material or doctrinal statements.

Etymology. atta derives from Proto-Indo-European *h₂et-tó- (reflexive pronoun 'self'), cognate with Latin attus 'taken up' and the English intensive pronoun 'that'. In Buddhist Pali, atta carries the central doctrinal weight of denying a permanent, unchanging self (anattā): the Buddha taught that clinging to atta is the root of dukkha. The particle iti (from *i-ti, 'thus going') is cognate with English it and Latin ire 'to go'; it marks the end of direct thought or speech in the canon.

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

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