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rājamahāmattassa

rājamahāmatta

masc dat sg of rājamahāmatta (noun); masc gen sg of rājamahāmatta (noun)

1. royal minister; cabinet member

Built from

• rāja — root · king, rule
  From √rāj (to rule, to shine). Cognate with Latin rex (king) and the Germanic root behind English reich. The notion of rule carries the sense of radiance or sovereignty.
• mahā — prefix · great
  From Indo-European *meg- (great). Cognate with Greek megas, Latin magnus, and English much. Used as an intensifying prefix to mark high rank or importance.
• matta — stem · measure, office, post
  From √mā (to measure, to make). Cognate with Latin modus (measure, manner) and English measure. In the context of government, matta denotes an official position or sphere of responsibility.
• ssa — ending · genitive/dative singular
  This inflection marks either possession (genitive: 'of the royal minister') or indirect object/recipient (dative: 'to/for the royal minister') in singular form.

Analysis. rāja- (king) + mahā- (great) + matta (measure, office, post). A king's great officer; literally 'great measure/post of the king'. The final -ssa is genitive/dative singular inflection.

Etymology. rāja from √rāj (to rule, shine), cognate with Latin rex "king" and English reich; mahā from Indo-European *meg- (great), cognate with Greek megas, Latin magnus, English much; matta (office, measure) from √mā (measure, make), cognate with Latin modus and English measure. The compound reflects the bureaucratic structure of early Indian kingdoms, where the mahāmatta (great officer) served directly under the rāja (king).

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

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