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saṅkhārattāyaṁ

saṅkhāra

locative singular (saṅkhārattāyaṁ = saṅkhāra-tta-āyaṁ); surface form shows contraction and sandhi

1. conditioned phenomena
2. mental formations
3. aggregates; process of conditioning

Built from

• saṁ — prefix · together, with
  Brings things into a composite whole; here suggests things 'put together' or constructed.
• khar — root · make, do, construct
  Related to Latin creare and English craft; the concrete image of fashioning or putting together.
• a — ending · abstract noun suffix
  Nominalizes the root into the quality or act of construction.
• tta — ending · abstract quality, state
  Forms abstract nouns from nominal stems; saṅkhāra-tta = 'conditionedness, the quality of being formed'.
• āyaṁ — ending · locative singular
  Marks location or respect; 'in the state/aspect of' or 'with regard to conditioned phenomena'.

Analysis. saṅkhāra-tta-āyaṁ: 'saṅkhāra' (conditioned formations) + '-tta' (abstract noun suffix, nominalizing quality) + '-āyaṁ' (locative ending). The form saṅkhārattā means 'conditionedness' or 'the state of being a saṅkhāra'; the locative 'in the state/aspect of saṅkhāras' or 'in respect of formations'. Attested in contexts emphasizing the impermanent, constructed nature of phenomena.

Etymology. saṅkhāra = sam- (together, bringing into one) + √kṛ (make, do, construct); literally 'things brought together, constructions'. The root kṛ cognates with Latin creare (create) and English craft. The image is of volitional activity composing conditioned reality—what is 'made' or constructed stands opposed to the unconditioned (asaṅkhata), the Nirvana beyond formations.

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

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