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sammāsambuddhā

sammāsambuddha

masc nom pl of sammāsambuddha (noun); masc instr sg of sammāsambuddha (noun); masc abl sg of sammāsambuddha (noun); masc voc sg of sammāsambuddha (noun); …

1. perfectly awakened Buddha; fully enlightened being

Built from

• saṁ — prefix · together, completely
  Things brought into one unified state; intensifies the verbal action that follows.
• buddh — root · awake, become aware
  From *bheudh- (to observe, be aware); cognate with Sanskrit bodhi, German bieten. The past participle form of √budh.
• a — ending · masculine singular stem
  Nominal stem-forming suffix, here marking the masculine noun in base form.
• ā — ending · nominative plural marker
  Marks the nominative plural case of masculine a-stem nouns (though sammāsambuddhā can also appear in other oblique forms in sandhi).

Analysis. sammā + sambuddha: sammā (rightly, properly, completely) + sambuddha (awakened together, fully enlightened). The compound expresses the Buddha's perfect and complete awakening—not partial or one-sided insight, but awakening brought to full consciousness by saṁ- (together, completely) and buddha (awakened, past participle of √budh).

Etymology. sambuddha: saṁ + √budh (to wake, become aware). The root budh is cognate with Sanskrit bodhi (awakening, knowledge), English bid (to offer, propose), and German bieten; all descend from the Indo-European root *bheudh- (to be aware, observe). The prefix saṁ- originally meant things brought into one place; here it intensifies budh into complete, unified awakening. sammā: related to sama (even, same, equal) and the prefix sam-; it stresses the thorough, even, and symmetrical nature of the enlightenment.

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

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