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kammante

kammanta

masc acc pl of kammanta (noun); masc loc sg of kammanta (noun); nt acc pl of kammanta (noun); nt loc sg of kammanta (noun); …

1. work; business activity
2. workplace; business premises
3. deed; action; activity
4. work; business activity
5. having work; with activity

Built from

• kam(m) — root · deed, action
  From PIE *kwer- (to make, do). The concrete sense is 'handiwork' or 'what is made'; extended to action and karma in Buddhist philosophy.
• -anta — ending · domain, sphere, or -ness
  Nominalizing suffix from Sanskrit anta (end, boundary). Here it marks the abstract sphere or arena of action, giving kammanta the sense of 'field of deed' or 'work-domain'.

Analysis. kam + manta: kamma (action, deed) + anta (end, boundary, or suffix forming abstracts); thus 'action-domain' or 'sphere of action'. The compound is sometimes parsed kamma-anta, treating -anta as a nominalizing suffix.

Etymology. kamma from Sanskrit karman (deed, action, work), from PIE *kwer- (to make, do); cognate with English craft, German Werk. The suffix -anta (or -anta as boundary/end) relates to Sanskrit anta (end, boundary), from PIE *h₂ent- (front, forehead, end); cognate with English end, ante-.

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

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