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devāpi

deva

masc nominative plural + api (sandhi form devāpi); 'even the gods'

1. deva (masc): deity; god
2. deva (masc): king; lord
3. deva (masc): rain god; rain cloud; lit. god; i.e. Indra, god of the heavens
4. deva (masc): sky; heavens; lit. god; i.e. Indra, god of the heavens
5. devāpi (sandhi): even the gods

Built from

• dev- — root · shine, sky
  PIE *deiw- 'to shine'; the luminous or celestial principle. Cognates: Latin deus, Sanskrit devá-, Greek dîos 'of Zeus'.
• -ā — ending · nominative plural
  Marks masculine nominative plural of a-stem nouns, agreeing with the subject.
• api — prefix · even, also
  Enclitic particle emphasizing scope or inclusion. Related to Sanskrit api and PIE *h₂epi 'toward, near, upon'; used to extend an assertion to unlikely or comprehensive cases.

Analysis. devā (nom. pl. of deva 'god') + api (even, also). The sandhi form shows elision of -a in devā before the vowel-initial api, yielding devāpi. Used to emphasize scope or universality: 'even the gods (are subject to this)'—a characteristic Buddhist rhetorical device marking the pervasiveness of a doctrine.

Etymology. Deva descends from PIE *deiw- 'shine, sky', related to Latin deus 'god' and Sanskrit devá-. The root sense is luminous or celestial. Api 'even, also' is an enclitic particle, cognate with Sanskrit api and related to PIE *h₂epi 'toward, near'.

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

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