What is "anti-nephi-lehi"

According to the Book of Mormon, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies were a group of people who, after a significant religious conversion, made a covenant that they would not participate in war, and buried their weapons. This group of people is unknown outside the Book of Mormon.

The plural form of the name, Anti-Nephi-Lehies, was taken on by Lamanite Christian converts. Later, they were called Ammonites to honor the primary missionary of their conversion. Anti-Nephi-Lehies differed from other Book of Mormon people in that they were pacifists as a reaction to their previous extreme warlike behavior. Anti-Nephi-Lehies preferred death over killing in self-defense.

Anti-Nephi-Lehi, who succeeded his father as king of all the Lamanite lands except the land of Ishmael, was also one of the converted Lamanites, and a brother to Lamoni.

The term "anti" has perplexed readers as the Lamanites made a covenant to serve the Lord and thus align themselves with the Nephites. These readers assume the Latin/Greek meaning of the prefix "anti", which means "opposing" or "against". However, the Book of Mormon record states that it was written in reformed Egyptian, so a Greek or Latin meaning is unlikely. "Anti" may be a reflex of the Egyptian "nty:", he of, the one of. Thus, rather than having the sense "against", it may have the meaning "the one of Nephi and Lehi".

There is, perhaps, a plausible explanation of "anti" as meaning "not". The challenge they faced was distinguishing themselves as a body of Lamanite converts without using the term "Laman", hence, "The Lehies not of Nephi", or "The not-Nephite Lehies."

Another possibility can be found in Alma 21:11 where a village is named Ani-Anti. Perhaps the name Anti was derived from this village and it is merely a name.