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ayyeti

ayya

3rd person singular present indicative of ayyeti (denominative from ayya)

1. ayya (masc): master; noble; gentleman; sir
2. ayya (adj): noble
3. ayyā (fem): mistress; lady; madam
4. ayye (fem): polite address to a woman; mistress; lady; madam
5. ayyā (fem): mother; lit. noble lady

Built from

• ayya — root · master, sir
  An honorific noun (masc.) meaning 'noble one, master'; related to Sanskrit āryya- and Greek areté (excellence). Conveys respect and social rank.
• -e — ending · vocative
  Vocative singular of the a-stem ayya, used in direct address (ayye = 'O master').
• iti — ending · thus, saying
  Quotative particle marking reported or conventional speech; here it marks the verb as denominative (treating 'ayya' as something one says or calls someone).

Analysis. ayye (vocative of ayya, 'master, sir') + iti (quotative particle, 'thus, saying'); a denominative verb formed from the noun ayya, meaning to address or speak to someone as ayya.

Etymology. ayya is an old honorific noun (Pali, Sanskrit āryya- 'noble, master') of Indo-European descent; related to Sanskrit ārya- and ultimately to Proto-Indo-European *ar- (fit, proper). The suffix -eti marks the 3rd singular present of class I verbs; the form ayyeti denominatively extends the noun into a verb of address and respect.

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

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