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abhavissa

cond 3rd sg of abhavissa (verb); cond 2nd sg of abhavissa (verb)

1. (if) would be; could have been

Built from

• a — prefix · not, without
  Negation prefix. Plain denial without the concrete spatial force of other prefixes.
• bhav — root · be, become, grow
  Core of existence and arising. Cognate with Sanskrit bhavati and Indo-European *bʰeuH-, whence English be.
• issa — ending · conditional marker
  Marks irreality or counterfactual condition: would/could (expressing what is not actual). Formed on the future stem in Pali.

Analysis. a- (not) + bhavissa (conditional of bhavati, to be): 'would not be'. The a- prefix negates the conditional stem, creating a counterfactual sense used in conditional clauses and apodoses.

Etymology. a- (negation prefix, cognate with English un-, Greek a(n)-) + bhavati (to be, become, cognate with Sanskrit bhavati and Indo-European *bʰeuH- 'to grow, become', whence English be). The conditional -issa marks irreality or hypothetical mood.

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

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