(voc. pl. m.) friend, a form of polite address “friend, brother Sir”, usually in conversation between bhikkhus. The grammatical construction is with the pl. of the verb, like bhavaṃ and bhavanto
■ Vin.ii.302; DN.i.151, DN.i.157; DN.ii.8; Snp-a.227; Dhp-a.i.9; Dhp-a.ii.93; Pv-a.12, Pv-a.13, Pv-a.38, Pv-a.208.

a contracted form of āyusmanto pl. of āyusman, of which the regular Pāli form is āyasmant with v for y as frequently in Pāli, e.g. āvudha for āyudha