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vītataṇhassāvuso

vītataṇha

nominative singular masculine of vītataṇha (adjective), with vocative particle āvuso; surface form shows sandhi contraction

1. one whose thirst is gone
2. one free from craving
3. the Awakened One (in direct address)

Built from

• vi — prefix · apart, away
  The prefix vi- marks direction away and separation; here, thirst has gone apart (been banished).
• ī — root · go (past participial marker)
  Forms the past participle with -ta, showing the action is completed.
• ta — ending · past participle
  Marks completed action; -ta is the standard Pali past participle ending.
• taṇha — stem · thirst, craving
  A key Pali doctrinal term; literally 'thirst' but extended to mean the craving that perpetuates suffering in the Four Noble Truths.
• ssa — ending · genitive/vocative contraction
  Colloquial sandhi linking nominative address with vocative particle; marks the speaker addressing someone by this epithet.
• āvuso — ending · vocative particle (friend, sir)
  A term of respectful address often appended to names or epithets when speaking directly to an Arahant or the Buddha.

Analysis. vīta- (gone, departed) + taṇha (thirst, craving); āvuso is a vocative particle (friend, sir) appended in direct address. The genitive -ssa- bridges the nominative adjective with the vocative particle in Pali's colloquial contraction of address formulas.

Etymology. vīta is the past participle of vi + eti (vi 'apart' + eti 'goes', meaning 'has gone away'); taṇha (thirst) is cognate with Sanskrit tṛṣṇā and ultimately Indo-European *terə- (to cross, to parch). The compound reflects the Buddha's teaching that cessation of craving marks liberation.

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

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