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passasāmīti

passasati

3rd person singular present indicative

1. exhales; breathes out; lit. breathes forward

Built from

• pa — root · breathe, blow
  Spatial imagery of motion outward; cognates include Latin passus and Sanskrit paśva-, all tracing to Indo-European *pes- (to stretch, spread, breathe).
• ssa — stem · frequentative
  The -ssa- infix marks repeated or iterative action; here, the ongoing breathing or exhalation.
• ati — ending · 3rd singular present
  The -ati ending marks 3rd person singular present indicative, showing the action as occurring in real time.

Analysis. passasāmi + iti: the 1st person singular present ("I breathe out") + the quotative particle iti ("thus"), forming a fixed expression or oath-like utterance, "I breathe out thus" or "breathing out."

Etymology. √pas (to breathe, blow) + -sa- (frequentative suffix) + -ati (3rd sg. present ending). The root √pas is cognate with Sanskrit paśva- (to blow), Latin passus (breathing, respiration), and English pass (originally to go, move).

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

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