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uttara

masc voc sg of uttara (adj); nt voc sg of uttara (adj); nt voc sg of uttara (noun); masc voc sg of uttara (noun); …

1. crossing over; going over; lit. crossing up
2. name of a young Brahman; lit. higher
3. higher (than); superior (to)
4. northern; north; lit. higher
5. north; lit. higher
6. upper robe; lit. higher
7. name of a deity; lit. higher
8. name of a privately awakened Buddha; lit. higher
9. …

Built from

• ut — prefix · up, out
  Upward and outward motion; cognate with English "out" and German "aus". Here it intensifies the sense of crossing or going beyond.
• tar — root · cross, traverse
  √tar in tarati "crosses over"; related to Latin trans- (across) and English "traverse". The root carries the image of getting across an obstacle or boundary.
• a — ending · masculine/neuter nominative
  Nominal stem-forming suffix, unmarked for gender and number in the base form.

Etymology. ut- (up, out) + √tar (to cross, traverse). The root √tar appears in tarati "crosses over"; ut- provides the sense of upward motion or transcendence. Related to Latin trans- (across) and English "traverse"; the prefix ut- is cognate with English "out" and German "aus". The spatial imagery of crossing upward or going beyond underlies the abstract sense of superiority and the direction "north" (the upper direction on ancient maps).

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

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