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paṭikkante

paṭikkanta

masc acc pl of paṭikkanta (pp); nt acc pl of paṭikkanta (pp); masc loc sg of paṭikkanta (pp); nt loc sg of paṭikkanta (pp); …

1. returned; come back (from)
2. returning; going back (to); lit. gone back

Built from

• paṭi — prefix · back, against
  Counter-motion or return. Greek proti/pros 'toward, against'; expresses reversion or opposition.
• kam — root · go, walk
  Motion; cognate with Latin ambulare (walk) and English come (once meant 'go forth'). Root sense: progressive movement.
• ta — ending · past participle
  Marks completed action. Agrees in case and number with the noun it modifies (here masculine and neuter forms in accusative plural, locative singular, etc.).

Analysis. paṭi- + √kam (go) + -ta: 'gone back'; the prefix paṭi- reverses the motion of √kam, expressing return or counter-motion.

Etymology. paṭikkanta is built on paṭikkamati, from paṭi- (back, against, counter-motion) + √kam (go). The root √kam has the sense of motion or progress; paṭi- reverses it toward the speaker or to a previous state. Compare Sanskrit pratikrānta (gone back) and the English prefix counter- (contra-, as in counterattack).

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

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