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cāpi

ca

ind (sandhi form cāpi)

1. ca (ind): and; both
2. ca (ind): but; although; and if
3. ca (ind): (gram) and; as well as; but; terms and conditions apply to a rule
4. ca (letter): (gram) letter c; 14th letter of the alphabet; palatal consonant
5. ca (ind): 6th item in a numerical list; lit. letter c
6. cāpi (sandhi): or even; and even; as well as

Built from

• ca — root · and
  Ancient coordinating conjunction, cognate with Latin -que, Greek te (τε). Links nouns, verbs, or clauses symmetrically.
• api — root · even, also
  Particle meaning 'also' or 'even'; from PIE *ap- 'off, away' (Latin ab-, Greek apo-). Adds emphasis or inclusion to the preceding item.

Analysis. Sandhi contraction of ca + api: the conjunction ca 'and' followed by the particle api 'even, also'; used to emphasize or add an inclusive sense ('and even', 'as well as').

Etymology. ca is an ancient coordinating conjunction found across Indo-European languages, cognate with Latin que (suffix, 'and'), Greek te (τε, 'and'), and English 'and'. The particle api derives from PIE *ap(i)- 'off, away from', whence also Latin ab-, Greek apo-, English off/of; in this context api generalizes the force of ca to mean 'also' or 'even'. Together cāpi marks coordinate items with a sense of inclusion or emphasis.

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

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