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yāthāvanti

yāthāva

adjective, nominative plural masculine or neuter

1. perfectly true; real; definite; certain

Built from

• yātha — prefix · in accordance with, just as
  Instrumental singular of yathā (relative "as"), giving a modal sense of "according to" or "in the manner of". The *yo- stem is cognate with English who and Latin quī.
• ava — root · down, real, actual
  May be an intensifying particle or marker of actualization. Related to ava (down), cognate with Latin au- and English off, here used to emphasize truth or reality rather than motion.
• nti — ending · nominative plural
  Marks agreement with a plural subject (masculine or neuter). This ending (-nti for -anti) derives from the Proto-Indo-European nominative plural marker *-entes.

Analysis. yātha + ava; the nominative plural -nti ending marks agreement. yātha is the instrumental singular of yathā ("as, in the manner that"), used here as a prefix meaning "in accordance with" or "just as"; ava is likely a strengthening particle or copular element. The compound expresses "in accordance with reality" or "exactly as it is".

Etymology. yathā derives from the Indo-European relative stem *yo- (same root as English "who", Latin "quī"); the instrumental case gives it a modal sense. ava- may be connected to ava "down" (cognate with Latin au-, English off), here used as an intensifier or marker of actualization rather than motion downward.

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

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