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sammaggatā

sammaggata

masc nom pl of sammaggata (adj); fem nom sg of sammaggata (adj); fem nom pl of sammaggata (adj); nt nom pl of sammaggata (adj); …

1. practicing correctly; going the right way; performing correctly; lit. correctly gone
2. who has practiced correctly; perfected; epithet of the Buddha and awakened beings; lit. correctly gone

Built from

• saṁ — prefix · together, completely
  The prefix sam- brings things into unified wholeness. Here it emphasizes the complete, integrated traversal of the path to awakening.
• magga — root · path, way
  From √gam 'to go'; the path is what one traverses. The etymological image is of walking or journeying.
• ta — ending · past participle
  The -ta ending marks the past participle, turning the action 'to go the path together' into the adjective 'one who has gone the path together', i.e., perfected.

Analysis. saṁ + magga + ta: 'together-gone' (saṁ = together, completely; magga = path, way; ta = past participle ending). The compound emphasizes the unified, complete traversal of the Noble Path leading to awakening.

Etymology. saṁ (sam-) is the Indo-European root meaning 'together, with, same' (cognates: English 'same', Latin similis, Greek homo-), here intensifying magga 'path' (from √gam 'to go', related to Latin venire and English 'come'). The sense evolved from literal 'together-gone' (traveling the path in its entirety) to 'one who has gone the right way', hence 'perfected, awakened'.

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

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