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ceva

ca

ind. (sandhi form: ca + eva)

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. ce (ind): if
7. ce (ind): but; than
8. ceva (sandhi): only if; if just
9. …

Built from

• ca — root · and
  Ancient enclitic conjunction, cognate with Sanskrit ca and Latin -que, used to link words and clauses. In ceva, it shifts toward a conditional sense through combination with eva.
• eva — root · only, just; self
  Emphasizing particle from *swa- 'own' (related to English 'self'). In compounds, eva intensifies or restricts meaning to a single condition or exclusive marking.

Analysis. ca (and) + eva (only, just): a conjunction pairing 'and' with the emphasizing particle eva, forming a conditional meaning 'if and only if' or 'only if'. The form is a phonetic contraction, with initial e- of eva assimilating to the final -a of ca.

Etymology. ca is the ancient conjunction cognate with Sanskrit ca and Latin -que (both enclitic coordinators); eva is from Sanskrit eva (only, just), likely from *swa- 'own' (self), making eva etymologically 'of itself, purely'. Together they express conditional exclusivity rather than simple conjunction.

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

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