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piṭṭhito

piṭṭhi

fem abl sg of piṭṭhi (noun)

1. piṭṭhi (fem): back; lit. what stands forward
2. piṭṭhi (fem): top; upper side; lit. what stands forward
3. piṭṭhi (fem): surface; lit. what stands forward
4. piṭṭhito (ind): behind; at the rear of; just behind; lit. from what stands forward
5. piṭṭhito (ind): backwards; lit. from what stands forward

Built from

• piṭṭhi — root · back, rear
  Cognate with Sanskrit pṛṣṭha; literally 'what stands forward' (the prominent back). Spatial noun marking position behind the speaker.
• -to — ending · from, out of (ablative)
  Ablative singular ending deriving an indeclinable adverb. Marks source or direction: 'from the back' → 'behind, backwards'.

Analysis. piṭṭhi (back, rear) + -to (ablative suffix): literally 'from the back', hence 'from behind' or 'backwards'.

Etymology. piṭṭhi is cognate with Sanskrit pṛṣṭha 'back, rear' (from *pr̥-sth-, standing forward/prominently), related to the root √sthā 'stand'. The notion is of what stands out prominently behind one. English 'first' (what comes forward) shows the same root metaphor in reverse.

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

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