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gottarakkhitā

gottarakkhita

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

1. protected by a family clan

Built from

• gotta — root · clan, lineage
  From Sanskrit gotra, a family line whose members share ritual and social identity. The root sense 'chosen' or 'tasted' (as in selecting one's own) became 'breed' or 'stock'.
• rakkhita — stem · protected, guarded
  Past participle of rakkhati (to guard, protect). The -ita ending marks the perfective participle, turning an action into an adjective describing a completed state.

Analysis. gotta (clan, family lineage) + rakkhita (protected, guarded), a dvandva compound: 'clan-protected', describing someone whose status and safety rest on kinship bonds.

Etymology. gotta from Sanskrit gotra, ultimately from Indo-European *gews- (to taste, choose), hence a 'chosen line' or family; rakkhita, past participle of rakkhati (to guard, protect), cognate with English 'wreck' (originally 'to drive, care for') and Sanskrit rakṣati. The compound reflects social structures where caste and kinship determined one's legal standing and refuge.

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

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