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katamāni

katama

nt nom pl of katama (interr); nt acc pl of katama (interr)

1. what?; which (of the many)?

Built from

• kata — root · which, what
  Interrogative root. Sanskrit katara, katama; the concrete image is one's finger pointing at undefined objects to ask 'which one?'
• ma — ending · masculine/neuter suffix
  Forms interrogative pronoun stems (also in yama 'which'), creating the singular base katama to which number endings attach. Here -ni is the neuter nominative/accusative plural ending.

Etymology. From √kata (interrogative root meaning 'which', 'what') + -ma (masculine/neuter suffix forming interrogative pronouns). Related to Sanskrit katama. The interrogative stem appears also in kati 'how many?' and kata-viddha 'pierced how?'

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

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