‹ Back to the text

iddhimā

iddhimant

masc nom sg of iddhimant (noun); masc nom pl of iddhimant (noun); masc voc sg of iddhimant (noun)

1. who has psychic powers; possessing supernormal ability; lit. having power quality

Built from

• iddhi — stem · psychic power, accomplishment
  From √sidh 'to succeed, be accomplished'. The concretely 'firmly placed' or 'settled' thing becomes metaphorically any achieved, accomplished state — hence supernatural ability regarded as mastered achievement.
• mant — ending · having, possessing
  Adjectival suffix from √man 'to think, conceive'. Marks the nominative singular masculine form and agrees with the referent; -mā is the nominative singular masculine form of the -mant declension.

Analysis. iddhi (psychic power, supernatural ability) + mant (having, possessing) — literally 'having power'.

Etymology. iddhi from √sidh 'to succeed, prosper, be accomplished' (Sanskrit siddhi; cognate with Latin sedēre 'to sit, settle', English settle). The root's concrete sense 'to place firmly' underlies the meaning 'achievement, accomplishment'. mant from √man 'to think' (common suffix meaning 'possessing'); cognate with English mind, German Meinung.

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

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