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aññathattaṁ

aññatthatta

accusative singular neuter of aññatthatta (noun)

1. otherness, alterity
2. difference in nature or essence
3. deviation from the true nature

Built from

• aña — root · other
  The root underlying aññatha; cognate with Sanskrit anya and PIE *al-. Conveys what lies outside, what is alien or distinct.
• -tha — ending · manner, adverbial
  Forms adverbs from nominal stems; aññatha means 'in an other manner, differently'.
• -tta — ending · abstract noun suffix
  Converts adjectives and adverbs into abstract nouns (like English -ness); here derives aññatthatta 'otherness, state of being other' from aññatha.
• -ṁ — ending · accusative singular
  Marks the direct object; the accusative case here expresses the notion or concept directly perceived or conceived.

Analysis. aññatha (adverbial form of aña, 'other') + -tta (suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives and adverbs, like -ness in English) + -ṁ (accusative ending); literally 'state of being other' or 'quality of otherness'

Etymology. From aña 'other' (cognate with Sanskrit anya, from PIE *al- 'other, beyond'; related to English 'else' and 'alien'). The suffix -tta derives abstract qualities as -ness does in English. In early Buddhist doctrine, aññatthatta denotes the falsely perceived permanent nature (sabhāva) that is actually absent—a key error in misunderstanding anattā (non-self).

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

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