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etampi

eta

pronoun; sandhi form etaṃ + api = etampi, meaning 'just this' or 'this alone'

1. eta (pron): this
2. etampi (sandhi): just this; this alone; this
3. etaṃ (pron): this; this thing (subject)
4. etaṃ (pron): this; this man; this thing (object)
5. eti (pr): comes (to)
6. eti (pr): goes (to)
7. enta (prp): coming
8. eti (pr): becomes

Built from

• etaṃ — root · this
  Accusative singular neuter of the proximal demonstrative pronoun eta. Cognate with Sanskrit etá- and Indo-European *e-to-, marking nearness in space or discourse.
• api — prefix · even, also, just
  Particle of emphasis or addition, here adding focus or restriction to the preceding demonstrative, sharpening the sense to 'just this' or 'this alone'.

Analysis. etaṃ (acc. sg. neut. of eta 'this') + api ('also', 'even', 'just') in sandhi: the accusative direct object 'this' + the particle of emphasis or addition 'even/also', yielding 'this even' or 'this just', used to stress exclusivity or a single point.

Etymology. eta is the proximal demonstrative pronoun, cognate with Sanskrit etá- and ultimately from an Indo-European deictic *e-to- ('that [one]'). The particle api ('even', 'also') is cognate with Sanskrit api and Greek ἀπό (apó) in the sense of 'off/from' used as an intensifier; in etampi the particle adds emphasis or exclusivity to the demonstrative.

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

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