‹ Back to the text

sappaṭipuggaloti

sappaṭipuggala

masculine nominative singular; -oti is a quotative particle (he/she/it says, it is called)

1. equal; peer; compeer; counterpart

Built from

• saṁ — prefix · together, with
  Brings elements into a unified relation; here, joining two persons in symmetry. Common in doctrinal terms (samādhi 'collectedness').
• paṭi — prefix · back, against, counter
  Signals opposition or reciprocal relationship; one facing the other in response. Gives the sense of matching or equivalence.
• puggala — stem · person, individual
  The object of the compound; puggala is central to Buddhist discourse as the subject of rebirth and ethical action. May relate to Sanskrit puruṣa but exact origin is unclear.
• oti — ending · is called, quotative
  The particle oti marks reported speech or defining epithet ('he/she/it is called X'); here it nominates the entire compound as a label or title.

Analysis. sappaṭipuggala (a person who is a counter-match) + oti (quotative particle 'is called'). The compound sappaṭipuggala breaks down as saṁ (together, with) + paṭi (back, counter, in return) + puggala (person, individual), literally 'a person matched back' or 'a counter-person', i.e. one standing opposite as an equal or peer.

Etymology. saṁ from Indo-European *sem (together, same; cognate English same, Latin similis); paṭi from the directional sense 'back, against'; puggala likely from Sanskrit puruṣa (man, person), though Pali puggala shows a folk-etymology or phonetic shift. The spatial imagery is of two figures standing face-to-face or back-to-back, meeting as equals.

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

Lite mode — plain HTML for e-readers and old browsers. Full version