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kattā

katta

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

1. katta (pp): cut out; removed
2. kattar (masc): creator; maker
3. kattar (masc): (of a talk) speaker; lit. doer; maker
4. kattar (masc): (gram) agent; subject of the verb; lit. doer; maker
5. kattar (masc): (gram) active voice
6. kattar (masc): makes; who makes; lit. doer; maker
7. kattar (masc): doer; agent; who performs
8. kattar (masc): author; composer; writer; lit. doer; maker
9. …

Built from

• kar- — root · do, make
  The action verb at the heart of agency. Cognate with English 'care' and Latin 'creare'.
• -tā — ending · agent (masc nom sg)
  The agent-nominalizing suffix -tr̥ (here -tā in masculine nominative singular form) that marks the one who performs the action. From the same Indo-European morpheme as English -er and Latin -tor.

Etymology. From √kar- (to do, make). The agent noun kattā is formed with the suffix -tr̥ (nominative -tā), a widespread Indo-European nominalizing suffix seen in English -er (doer, maker), Latin -tor (factor, creator), and Sanskrit -tṛ. The root √kar- is cognate with English "care" (originally to turn attention toward) and Latin "creare" (to make). In Pali grammar, kattā is the technical term for the agent or subject of an active verb.

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

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