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manokammanti

manokamma

neuter; nominative singular + enclitic iti ("thus"); 3rd person singular present indicative of manokammati

1. mental action; thought; intention; lit. mind action

Built from

• mano — root · mind, thought
  From √man- (to think). Cognate to Sanskrit manas, Greek menos (spirit, courage), Latin mens (mind), English mental, manor (originally a dwelling of the mind or will).
• kamma — stem · action, deed
  From √kar- (to do, make). Cognate to Sanskrit karma, Greek ergon (work), English work, German Werk. In Buddhist doctrine, kamma is volitional action that conditions future experience.
• enti — ending · are, is (3sg present)
  Present indicative ending from √as- (to be). Marks the verbal assertion: what precedes is treated as a verb rather than a noun. Cognate to Latin est (is), English is.
• iti — ending · thus, quotative marker
  Enclitic particle that closes quoted or asserted speech. Often appended to nominatives to assert or quote: "(it is) thus a mental action."

Analysis. manokamma (mind-action) + enti (they are, present 3sg); or manokammaṃ (accusative) + iti (thus, quotative particle). The form manokammanti functions as a verb meaning "they are mental actions" or "it is a mental action," turning the nominal compound into verbal assertion.

Etymology. mano (mind, from √man- "to think"; cognate Sanskrit manas, Greek menos "spirit, courage", Latin mens "mind", English "mental") + kamma (action, deed; from √kar- "to do, make"; cognate Sanskrit karma, Greek ergon "work", English "work"). The compound shows how Pali builds abstract doctrinal terms from concrete roots: manokamma literalizes "mind-action" as the mental volitional impulse (cetanā) that shapes rebirth.

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

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