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mūlanti

mūla

nominative singular neuter, or mūlaṃ + iti (root + quotative particle)

1. (of a tree) root; base; foot
2. source; origin; root
3. money; cash; capital; moola
4. (vinaya) (of a legal action) beginning; start
5. original; first; primary
6. (of money) capital; principal
7. base; foundation; bottom part
8. primary text; root text; source text (as opposed to the commentaries and sub-commentaries)

Analysis. mūlaṃ + iti: the nominative/accusative form mūlaṃ (root) followed by the quotative particle iti (thus, so), used to cite or emphasize the word itself; common in Pali for setting off key terms or definitions.

Etymology. From Indo-European *mul- (to grind, mill), related to Sanskrit mūla, Latin molō (mill), English mill and molar. The root image is of grinding down to a base or fundamental particle; hence 'root' as the ground or foundation of a plant, and metaphorically of knowledge, action, and existence. In the canon, mūla appears in doctrinal compounds: mūlajāti (root-birth), and in the three roots of unwholesomeness (lobha, dosa, moha—greed, hatred, delusion—as the mūla of dukkha).

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

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