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aññatitthiyā

aññatitthiya

masc nom pl of aññatitthiya (adj); fem nom sg of aññatitthiya (adj); fem nom pl of aññatitthiya (adj); nt nom pl of aññatitthiya (adj); …

1. who belongs to another sect; who follows another religion; lit. another fording place

Built from

• aña — root · other, different
  Related to Sanskrit anya-, Greek allos, Latin alius — all from Indo-European *allo-. Marks contrast and otherness.
• titthiya — stem · sectarian, doctrinal
  Derived from tittha 'ford', a metaphor for doctrine and the path to salvation. One who belongs to a titthi holds a particular doctrinal 'ford' or crossing-place; sectarians follow rival fords.

Analysis. aña- (another) + titthiya (sectarian, one who holds a titthi 'ford/doctrine'). Compound denoting those outside the Buddhist dispensation, literally 'of another fording place' — the metaphor of the ford (tittha) represents access to the truth, so another ford means another, rival path to liberation.

Etymology. aña- is related to Sanskrit anya- 'other, different' (cf. English 'another', Latin alius — all from Indo-European *allo- 'other'). titthiya derives from tittha 'ford, crossing-place', a metaphor for doctrine and salvation; cognate with Sanskrit tīrtha (same sense), both from the root meaning 'to cross'. The compound plays on the Buddhist self-perception as the true path: rival sects are simply alternative (and inferior) fords.

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

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