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haññantu

haññati

imp 3rd pl of haññati (verb)

1. is struck; is stabbed; is beaten (by)
2. is hurt; is killed; is destroyed

Built from

• ha — root · strike, kill
  The root √han, 'to strike or slay', is cognate with Latin caedō, Germanic *haw- (hew), and carries the concrete image of violent impact.
• ññ — stem · present-tense infix
  The nasal infix -n- in the present stem (han + n + a > haññ-) originally marked repeated or iterative action; it appears in Indo-European presents like Latin frangō and Greek θνήσκω.
• a — stem · thematic vowel
  The thematic vowel -a- links the root to the personal endings and marks a regular thematic present-stem.
• ntu — ending · 3rd plural imperative
  The ending -ntu expresses imperative mood in the 3rd person plural: 'let them (be struck)', a volitive or jussive force.

Etymology. Root √han, 'to strike, kill' (Sanskrit √han, Latin caedō 'strike, cut', English hew). The present stem haññ- arises from the guna-grade of √han with the nasal infix -n-, typical of present-stem formation in Indo-European languages. This infix originally conveyed iterative or habitual action—repeated striking—and appears in cognates like Latin frangō (from *fran-g-, 'break') and English fang (seizing repeatedly). The -ati ending marks 3rd person plural, and the imperative mood here expresses command or wish: 'let them be struck'.

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

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