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mattaṭṭhakassa

mattaṭṭhaka

masc dat sg of mattaṭṭhaka (adj); nt dat sg of mattaṭṭhaka (adj); masc gen sg of mattaṭṭhaka (adj); nt gen sg of mattaṭṭhaka (adj)

1. short-lived; brief-standing; remaining only for a short time; lit. measure standing

Built from

• matta — root · measure, quantity
  From √mā 'to measure'. Cognate with English 'mete', Latin metior, Greek metron. Conveys the concrete sense of a defined amount or span.
• ṭhaka — ending · standing, established
  From √sthā 'to stand'. Cognate with English 'stand', Greek stasis, Latin stare, Sanskrit sthita. Forms an agent noun indicating something that holds or persists—here, only within the measured span.
• ssa — ending · genitive/dative singular
  Inflects the compound noun for genitive or dative case and singular number, marking possession, relation, or indirect object.

Analysis. matta (measure, quantity) + ṭhaka (standing, established); 'that which stands for only a measure/duration', hence temporary or fleeting.

Etymology. matta from √mā (measure, cognate with English 'mete', Latin metior); ṭhaka from √sthā (stand, cognate with English 'stand', Greek stasis, Latin stare). The compound deploys spatial imagery—'standing' only within a bounded 'measure'—to express brevity.

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

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