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mitte

mitta

masc acc pl of mitta (noun); masc loc sg of mitta (noun); nt acc pl of mitta (noun); nt loc sg of mitta (noun); …

1. mitta (masc): friend
2. mitta (nt): friend
3. mittā (fem): name of an arahant nun; lit. friend
4. mittā (fem): name of an arahant nun; lit. friend

Built from

• mitt — root · friend, mix
  From PIE *meit-, the sense 'friend' derives from the image of mingling or sharing goods and company. This root appears in Sanskrit mitra and Latin miscēre.
• a — ending · nominative singular masculine
  The -a masculine singular ending marks the headword form. In the plural accusative and locative, the form mitte uses the middle -i- with -te ending for those cases.

Etymology. From PIE *meit- 'to share, exchange', related to Sanskrit mitra 'friend, contract', Latin miscēre 'to mix', Greek meiknýnai 'to mix'. The concrete sense is 'one with whom one mixes or shares'—friendship as a mingling of lives. Cognate with English mete (originally 'to measure out, distribute') and modern Persian mitra.

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

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