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khattiyassa

khattiya

masc dat sg of khattiya (adj); nt dat sg of khattiya (adj); masc gen sg of khattiya (adj); nt gen sg of khattiya (adj); …

1. of the warrior caste; of high-caste; noble
2. man of the warrior caste; high-caste man; nobleman
3. prince; king's son

Built from

• khattiya — root · warrior, ruler
  From Sanskrit kṣatriya. The root kṣai 'to rule, govern' reflects the warrior's power to cut and command; the ending -ya forms an agent noun. Cognate with Latin caedere 'to cut' and Greek kteínein 'to slay', all rooted in *kṣe-.
• -ssa — ending · genitive singular
  Genitive ending marking possession or relation ('of the khattiya'). In this form, signals both the masculine and neuter genitive singular in Pali, used in constructions like 'of a warrior/nobleman.'

Etymology. From Sanskrit kṣatriya, derived from kṣatra 'rule, dominion' (√kṣai 'to rule, govern'), itself from the Indo-European root *kṣe- 'to cut, rule'. The semantic development reflects the warrior's role as one who cuts/conquers and rules: the root appears in Latin caedere 'to cut', Greek kteínein 'to slay'. In Pali Buddhism, khattiya denotes both the warrior varna (caste) and, by extension, a nobleman or prince—the social class of rulers and martial men.

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

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