Secondary Derivatives (taddhita)

Secondary Derivatives (taddhita)¶

tad + hita

that (person) + benefit, welfare

= for the good of that person

(one of the meanings of taddhita suffixes in Sanskrit)

or

tad + hita

that (noun) + benefit, enhancement

= enhancing the meaning of that noun

Secondary derivatives are suffixes added to nouns that enhance the noun's meaning in some way, essentially functioning as very short adjectives.

Traditional grammarians divide taddhita suffixes into a few categories

1. sāmañña (general)

1. apacc’attha (offspring / lineage / ancestry / descent)

1. anek’attha (various meanings)

1. atthy’attha (possession)

1. saṅkhyā (numerical)

2. bhāva (state of)

3. abyaya (indeclinable)

There are quite literally hundreds of these examples to be found in grammar books, but very few of them actually exist in the Tipiṭaka. We will go through just real examples, so many of the traditional categories are missing.