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appaṭipuggalo

appaṭipuggala

masc nom sg of appaṭipuggala (noun); masc nom sg of appaṭipuggala (adj)

1. who is not an equal; who is not a peer
2. matchless; peerless; unrivalled; unequalled; lit. with no counterpart

Built from

• a — prefix · not, without
  Negation. Cognate with English 'un-' and Greek 'a(n)-'.
• paṭi — prefix · back, against, counter to
  Concrete sense of facing or opposing. Cognate with Greek 'próti' (toward, against).
• puggala — root · person, individual
  From PIE *pug- (to push, strike). The compound paṭipuggala means 'an equal' or 'a match' — one who stands opposite or against you.

Analysis. a- (not) + paṭi- (back, against, counter to) + puggala (person, individual): literally 'not-counter-person', one against whom no equal stands or can be matched.

Etymology. The prefix a- (without, not) negates paṭipuggala (a match, a peer, one who stands against); paṭi- preserves its concrete sense of 'facing back' or 'opposing', so paṭipuggala is 'a person who opposes or equals you' — thus appaṭipuggala is the one without such a match. Puggala derives from PIE *pug- (to push, strike), visible in Sanskrit pugna (conflict); paṭi- is cognate with Greek próti (toward, against). The doctrinal sense emphasizes the Buddha and Arahants as beyond all comparison.

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

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