idamavoca

sandhi form: idaṃ + avoca (3rd sg. aor. of avacati)

one said this (to)

Built from

ava — prefix · forth, down
Directional prefix marking the utterance as complete and emphatic. Cognate with Latin au- (as in aufero).
vac — root · speak, say
Root for vocalization and speech across Indo-European. Cognate with Latin vōx 'voice', English voice, German Wach 'utterance'.
a — ending · 3rd sg. aor.
Aorist marker (thematic vowel a) marking past tense, completed action.
idaṃ — stem · this (acc.)
Demonstrative pronoun, accusative singular, marking the direct object of the speech: 'this (utterance/thing)'.

Analysis. idaṃ (this, accusative) + avoca (spoke, 3rd sg. aor. of ava-√vac). A common narrative formula introducing direct speech: 'he/she said this' or 'thus spoke'.

Etymology. ava- (down, forth) + √vac (speak, cognate with Latin vōx 'voice', English voice). The prefix ava- intensifies or marks the utterance as complete and definite; √vac is the verbal root for all speaking and vocalization across Indo-European languages.

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

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