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etarahi

indeclinable (adverb)

1. now; at present; lit. this day

Built from

• eta — root · this
  Demonstrative pronoun from Proto-Indo-European *e- 'he, that'. Cognates: English he, Gothic is.
• aha — root · day
  From √ah; cognate with Sanskrit aha 'day', and distantly with Latin aegre (originally denoting daylight or daytime).
• -i — ending · locative/temporal
  Old locative or instrumental singular suffix; marks the temporal or locative frame. Cognate with Sanskrit locative/instrumental -i and Latin -ī in temporal expressions.

Analysis. Compound of eta (demonstrative 'this') + aha (day) + -i (locative or temporal suffix). Contracted from *etasmim ahan + temporal -i, 'in this day'.

Etymology. eta (this) from the demonstrative stem *e- (Sanskrit eta, related to Gothic is 'he', English 'he'); aha (day) from √ah or aha-, akin to Sanskrit aha, Latin aegre 'with difficulty' (originally 'during the day, in daylight'); the temporal adverbial -i is an old locative or instrumental ending cognate with Sanskrit -i and Latin -ī. The phrase crystallized as an indeclinable temporal adverb meaning 'at this present time'.

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

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