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bhagavanto

bhagavant

masc nom sg of bhagavant (noun); masc nom pl of bhagavant (noun); masc voc pl of bhagavant (noun); masc nom sg of bhagavant (adj); …

1. Sublime One; Blessed One; Fortunate One; Auspicious One; epithet of the Buddha; lit. having good fortune quality
2. fortunate; lit. having good fortune quality

Built from

• bhag — root · fortune, share
  From *bʰeh₂g- (to allot, distribute). Concrete imagery of division and allotment of good things; cognate with Sanskrit bhaga- and Latin fāgus (beech tree).
• avant — ending · possessing, having
  Possessive suffix -avant (like Latin -ans/-ent in praesens, eminens). Marks the nominative singular masculine or plural of this adjective-noun used as an epithet.

Etymology. Compound of bhagg- (share, fortune) + -avant (possessive suffix). The root is bhagg-, cognate with Sanskrit bhaga- and ultimately Indo-European *bʰeh₂g- (to distribute, allot), which also appears in Latin fāgus (beech, the tree whose nuts were shared as food) and English back (in the sense of backing or supporting). The suffix -avant means 'having' or 'possessed of' (like English -ent in words such as innocent). Together, bhagavant means 'one who possesses good fortune or shares (wisdom)', a title emphasizing the Buddha's supremacy and auspiciousness.

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

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