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vacīkammanti

vacīkamma

3rd person plural present indicative of vacīkammati (they engage in verbal action)

1. verbal action; vocal act; speech

Built from

• vāc- — root · speech, voice
  From √vac (speak). Carries the sense of utterance and vocal expression. Cognate with Latin vōx, English voice.
• i — stem · (connective)
  Nominal stem connector, converting the root into the nominal stem vāci-.
• kamma — root · action, deed
  From √kar (make, do). In Buddhist vocabulary, kamma (Skt. karma) denotes intentional action and its ethical consequences. Cognate with Latin creare, English craft.
• ati — ending · 3rd plural present
  Denominative verb formation: the noun vacīkamma (speech-action) becomes a verb vacīkammati through the present active ending -ati. Marks plural subject performing the action in present time.

Analysis. vacīkamma + ati: "vocal action" (the noun used as a verb stem, common in Pali) + 3rd plural present ending. The compound vacīkamma itself: vāc- (speech) + kamma (action), "speech-action".

Etymology. vāc- from √vac (speak, say) cognate with Latin vōx (voice), English voice, German Wort; ultimately from the Indo-European root *wek- (speak, utter). kamma from √kar (make, do), cognate with Latin creare (create), English craft, German Kraft. The compound transfers the abstract sense of kamma (action, deed, karma) into the speech domain: not all action, but specifically the action of speaking.

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

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