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cāti

ca

ind

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

Built from

• ca — root · and, but
  Ancient conjunction marking coordination or contrast; cognate with Latin que and Greek te. Appears free and also combines with other particles to shade meaning.
• iti — stem · thus, so
  Enclitic particle from √i 'go'; when joined to ca as cāti, it forms an emphatic or conditional marker meaning 'and so' or 'if so'.

Analysis. ca + iti: the particle ca (and, but) + iti (thus, so), forming an emphatic or conditional conjunction. In older texts, cāti functions as 'and so', 'so then', or marks a conditional boundary.

Etymology. ca is an ancient conjunction, cognate with Latin que (enclitic 'and'), Sanskrit ca, and Greek te (in epic poetry). iti means 'thus' or 'so' (from √i 'go'), and the compound cāti literalizes the sense 'and thus' or 'so then'. The prefix-like force of ca in compounds reflects Indo-European coordination.

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

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