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āgamma

gerund

1. coming (to); arriving (at); meeting (with); lit. coming here
2. owing; relating; due (to); concerning; lit. coming here
3. returning (to); lit. coming here
4. dependent; based (on); lit. coming here

Built from

• ā — prefix · toward (the speaker)
  Reverses the direction of √gam from 'going away' to 'coming toward'. Creates the sense of approach and arrival.
• gam — root · go, come
  Cognate with Sanskrit gam-, Latin venīre, and English come. The root carries the image of motion or arrival.
• ma — ending · gerund
  The gerund suffix creates a noun form meaning 'having come' or 'the coming', which in context develops into the abstract senses 'basis', 'reason', 'owing to'.

Analysis. ā + √gam, 'coming toward the speaker'; used as a gerund meaning 'having come to', hence 'on the basis of', 'owing to', 'concerning'. The prefix ā reverses the motion of √gam from 'going away' to 'coming toward'.

Etymology. ā (toward the speaker) + √gam (go, come). √gam is the same root as Latin venīre (come) and English come (via Old English cuman); it is cognate with Sanskrit gam- and appears in Pali as gacchati 'goes'. The prefix ā (Sanskrit ā) reverses the direction of motion, turning 'go' into 'come (to)', and the gerund form āgamma preserves the concrete sense of motion while acquiring the abstract sense of 'basis' or 'reason'.

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

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