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vuttamarahatāti
sandhi contraction (3 elements elided and joined)
- this was indeed said by the Awakened One
Built from
- vutta — stem · said, spoken
Past participle of vac- (speak). The -ta ending marks completed action; vac appears in Latin vox (voice) and English voice.
- ṃ — ending · accusative singular
Neuter accusative nominalized the utterance as a thing spoken, the object of acknowledgment.
- arahant — stem · Arahant, worthy one, Buddha
From √arh (deserve, be worthy). In Buddhist usage, the supreme worthy one — the Buddha. No clear Indo-European cognate.
- ā — ending · instrumental singular
Marks the agent ('by the Arahant'); the postposition 'by' attaches to this case.
- iti — root · thus, so, quotation marker
Deictic particle (from pronominal *i-, this) that clinches reported speech and marks closure of a doctrinal utterance, a technical formula in the canon.
Analysis. vuttaṃ (past participle: 'said') + arahatā (instrumental singular: 'by the Arahant/Buddha') + iti (quotation marker: 'thus, so'); the whole phrase marks closure of direct or reported speech, affirming that the Buddha spoke these words.
Etymology. vuttaṃ from √vac (speak; cognate Latin vox, English voice); arahatā from arahant (worthy one, from √arh 'deserve'; no Indo-European cognate); iti from pronominal *i- (this), a deictic particle stabilizing reported discourse.