idampi

sandhi contraction: demonstrative pronoun idaṃ + enclitic particle api

idampi (sandhi): just this; this very; this exact
idaṃ (pron): this; this thing
idaṃ (pron): this; this thing; this place (object)
ima (pron): this
idaṃ (ind): here; in this case

Built from

idaṃ — root · this
Demonstrative pronoun from PIE *i- (to go, point); the near-deixis marker, opposed to asu 'that'. Identifies what speaker or context makes present.
pi — ending · even, just, also
Enclitic particle (api sandhi-contracted to pi after -ṃ). Emphatic or restrictive: adds focus to the word it follows, meaning 'even this' or 'just this very thing'.

Analysis. idaṃ (this) + api (even, also, just). The enclitic api emphasizes or restricts the demonstrative to its precise referent: 'this and nothing else' or 'even this'. Common in the Suttas to mark a specific case or instance.

Etymology. idaṃ derives from PIE *i-/e-d- (see, point: the root of 'id' and 'ideo' in Latin). api is a particle akin to Sanskrit api, from PIE *apo- (off, away), originally meaning 'further away' but becoming an emphatic enclitic 'even, just, also'.

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

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