‹ Back to the text

evamassu

sandhi form: evaṃ (adverb, 'thus') + assu (3rd person plural optative of atthi, 'be')

1. they should be like this

Built from

• evaṃ — stem · thus, in this way
  An adverbial particle or stem (eva + -m, possibly nominalized) meaning 'precisely, exactly', used to indicate manner or identity. Related to Sanskrit eva and English 'even'.
• assu — ending · should/may be (3rd pl. optative)
  Optative ending of atthi (√as 'to be'), expressing wish, condition, or exhortation. Marks the speaker's hope or blessing that others might be or remain in the state just described.

Analysis. evaṃ 'thus' + assu 'they should be', a contracted form expressing wish or exhortation: 'let it be thus for them' or 'may they be thus'. Common in formulas and blessings where the speaker invokes a state for others.

Etymology. evaṃ is from the root eva- meaning 'just, only, precisely' (cognate with Sanskrit eva), here used as an adverb 'thus, in this way'. assu is the optative of atthi (from √as 'to be'), expressing wish, hope, or possibility. The combination fuses a manner adverb with a verb of being to form a benedictive utterance.

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

Lite mode — plain HTML for e-readers and old browsers. Full version