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asamassa

asama

masc dat sg of asama (noun); masc gen sg of asama (noun); nt dat sg of asama (noun); nt gen sg of asama (noun); …

1. name of a deity; lit. not equal; incomparable
2. inequality; dissimilarity
3. unequalled; matchless; incomparable (to); lit. not the same
4. not equal; not equivalent; not the same

Built from

• a- — prefix · not, without
  Plain negation. Cognates: English un-, Greek a(n)-.
• sama — root · equal, same
  From PIE *sem- 'one, same'. Cognates: English 'same', Latin similis, Sanskrit sama. The concrete sense of 'levelled, even' extends to 'equal' and 'uniform'.

Etymology. a- (without, not) + sama (equal, same) — literally 'not equal'; sama descends from PIE *sem- 'one, same', cognate with English 'same', Latin similis, Sanskrit sama. The negation a- strips away equality to denote the transcendent incomparability of the Buddha and his Dharma.

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

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