demonstrative pronoun, nominative/accusative neuter singular with initial h- (metathesized form of *etaṁ)
Analysis. hetaṁ is a variant metathesis of etaṁ (eta in nominative/accusative neuter singular). The h- is a Pali phonetic development; the word is simple, not a compound.
Etymology. From Proto-Indo-European *e-to-, the root of demonstratives meaning 'this, that'; cognate with Latin is, Greek ho (hē, to), English it, this. The Pali demonstrative system derives from the same ancient deictic root as most European demonstratives.
Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.
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