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mahantattena

mahantatta

nt instr sg of mahantatta (noun)

1. (of size) largeness; greatness; lit. large state

Built from

• mahant — root · great, large
  From PIE *meg-; cognates include English 'much', Latin magnus (great), Greek megas (great), German 'Macht' (power). Refers to physical or abstract magnitude.
• atta — ending · abstract noun suffix (-tva, -ness)
  Nominalizes adjectives to form abstract nouns expressing state, quality, or essence (like English '-ness' in 'greatness'). Often used in doctrinal contexts for fundamental states (e.g., anattā 'non-self').
• ena — ending · instrumental singular
  Marks the instrumental case (by means of, through, with), showing the agent or means by which an action is performed or a state is understood.

Analysis. mahant- (adjective root 'great') + -atta (abstract noun suffix), instrumental case form mahantattena 'by means of greatness, through largeness'

Etymology. mahant- is cognate with Sanskrit mahat- (great), from PIE *meg- (great, mighty): English 'much', Latin magnus, Greek megas, German 'Macht' (power). The suffix -atta (Sanskrit -tva) nominalizes adjectives, forming abstract nouns; it derives from the copula 'to be', expressing the state or essence of a quality.

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

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