anya liṅga

 Anya‑liṅga means an adjective that takes the grammatical gender of the noun it qualifies, rather than having a fixed gender of its own.

What the term literally means

• anya = “other”
• liṅga = “gender” in Sanskrit grammar

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  Together, anya‑liṅga means “having the gender of another (word).”
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Core grammatical definition

Multiple Sanskrit dictionary sources state that anyaliṅga (अन्यलिङ्ग) is an adjective “having the gender of another word, i.e., the substantive”

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A related form, anyaliṅgaka, carries the same meaning

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This is a bahuvrīhi compound, describing a word whose gender is not fixed but follows the noun it modifies

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How it works in practice

In Sanskrit, some adjectives can be:

• masculine when describing a masculine noun
• feminine when describing a feminine noun
• neuter when describing a neuter noun

Such adjectives are called anya‑liṅga because their gender is “borrowed” from the noun.

Example from the source:

• ऊषवान् ऊषरः द्वावपि अन्यलिङ्गौ (Ak.) — “ūṣavān” and “ūṣara” are both anya‑liṅga adjectives

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How this differs from other meanings of liṅga

The word liṅga has many meanings in Sanskrit, including:

• “sign, mark”
• “proof”
• “grammatical gender”

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• the Śiva liṅga (religious symbol)

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Only the grammatical meaning is relevant here.
The religious meanings of liṅga—as a symbol of Śiva or as a metaphysical “sign”—are unrelated to anya‑liṅga.

Related terms

• vācyaliṅga — another term for an adjective that follows the gender of the noun

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• anyaliṅgaka — a synonym meaning the same thing

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Summary

Anya‑liṅga is a technical grammatical term describing adjectives whose gender changes to match the noun they qualify. It is not connected to the Śaiva religious concept of the liṅga.