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appekacce

appekacca

masc nom pl of appekacca (pron); nt nom pl of appekacca (pron); masc acc pl of appekacca (pron); nt acc pl of appekacca (pron)

1. (singular) a certain; (plural) some; a few; several

Built from

• appa — prefix · little, few
  From a- + pa-, literally 'not-stepped-forth'; the negation and forward movement combine to express diminishment and scarcity.
• eka — root · one
  Indo-European *oik-; cognates include Greek oikos (house, holding), Latin unus (one). Eka emphasizes singularity, treating items one by one.
• cca — ending · distributive suffix
  Marks the distributive sense 'each one singly'; when combined with appa, expresses 'few taken singly', hence 'some, several'.

Analysis. appa- (little, few) + ekacca (one, single); literally 'few single ones', hence 'some, several'.

Etymology. appa- derives from a- (not) + pa- (forth), meaning 'not-stepped-forth, diminished'; ekacca from eka (one, from Indo-European *oik- as in Greek oikos 'house', Latin unus 'one'). The compound treats individuals singly and in small number.

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

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