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damayamattānaṁ

damayamattāna

gerundive accusative singular masculine of damayati (3rd person singular present optative)

1. taming oneself
2. self-discipline
3. mastering the self

Built from

• damaya — stem · taming
  Present stem of damayati (√dam "to tame, subdue"). Cognates: Latin domare, English tame.
• matta — stem · directed at, focused on
  Suffix forming the gerundive; agrees with the object in case and number.
• ānaṁ — ending · accusative singular masculine
  Marks mattāna as accusative; the reflexive sense ("oneself") is carried by attā (self) underlying mattāna.

Analysis. damayamattānaṁ = damaya- (taming) + mattānaṁ (accusative of attā, "self", with reflexive force). The gerundive form damayamatta- expresses ongoing self-taming; mattānaṁ marks the object as reflexive.

Etymology. damayati is related to Sanskrit damayati "to tame, subdue", from √dam "to tame" (cognate with Latin domare, English tame). The reflexive accusative attā (< Proto-Indo-European *at- "to go" > Sanskrit ātman- "self") emphasizes that the taming is directed inward.

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

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