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idhekacco

idhekacca

masc nom sg of idhekacca (pron)

1. here one; here a certain; in this case some; some people here

Built from

• idha — root · here
  Locative adverb; Sanskrit iha. Spatial deixis marking the speaker's immediate surroundings.
• eka — root · one
  Sanskrit eka-, from PIE *oyk-o-. Cognate with English one (via *oi-ko-) and Latin unus.
• acca — ending · or other (indefinite suffix)
  Forms indefinite pronouns; shifts the meaning of eka from cardinal "one" to selective "some one or other".

Analysis. Compound: idha "here" + ekacca "one or other, a certain". The second element ekacca itself compounds eka "one" + acca (suffix forming indefinite pronouns). Together: "a certain [person] in this place".

Etymology. idha is a locative adverb from the root of Sanskrit iha "here"; eka derives from PIE *oyk-o- (Sanskrit eka-, English one cognate via *oi-ko-). The suffix -acca forms indefinite pronouns by analogy with interrogatives and demonstratives.

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

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