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dhātā

dhāta

masc nom pl of dhāta (pp); fem nom sg of dhāta (pp); fem nom pl of dhāta (pp); nt nom pl of dhāta (pp); …

1. dhāta (pp): remembered; retained in mind; known off by heart
2. dhāta (pp): (of food) satisfied; lit. sucked, drunk
3. dhātar (masc): humour of the body, faculty of senses
4. dhātar (masc): supporter; bearer, carrier; upholder; lit. who causes to carry

Built from

• dhā — root · hold, place, bear
  The root √dhā carries concrete imagery of grasping and supporting. Cognate with English 'do', Latin 'facere', Sanskrit 'dhā'—all from the Indo-European root *dheh₂ (to place, put).
• ta — ending · past participle marker
  Masculine nominative singular or plural, feminine nominative, or neuter nominative, agreeing with the noun it modifies. Marks completed action: 'held', 'borne', or 'remembered'.

Etymology. From √dhā (to hold, place, bear), cognate with English 'do' and Sanskrit dhāti (he holds). The past participle dhāta means 'held' or 'borne'; the agent noun dhātar (who holds/bears) develops meanings like 'supporter' and 'faculty' (that which sustains). The semantic shift from 'held' to 'remembered' reflects how memory is construed as something retained or held in mind.

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

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