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atthaṅgamā

atthaṅgama

masc nom pl of atthaṅgama (noun); masc instr sg of atthaṅgama (noun); masc abl sg of atthaṅgama (noun); masc voc sg of atthaṅgama (noun); …

1. disappearance; vanishing; settling down; subsiding; passing away (of); lit. going home
2. (of the sun) setting; going down

Built from

• att(h)a — stem · home, dwelling
  Related to Sanskrit atha 'home' and the root *stha- 'to stand, settle' (cognate with English stand, Latin stare). Concrete sense: the place where one returns or settles.
• ṅgama — root · going
  From √gam 'to go', cognate with English come, Latin venire. The nasal prefix ṅ marks the action noun stem. Sense: motion away or toward a place.

Analysis. att(h)a + ṅgama: 'home' + 'going', hence 'going home' or 'departure'; used for the sun's setting and metaphorically for the cessation of phenomena.

Etymology. atta (home, dwelling; Sanskrit atha, from *stha- 'to stand, settle') + gama (going, from √gam 'to go', cognate with English come, Latin venire). The compound's sense evolved from the literal 'going home' to the abstract 'disappearance' and 'setting' in Buddhist doctrinal contexts, especially for the sun's descent and the fading of conditioned things.

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

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