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katamañcānanda

katama

interrogative pronoun, nominative singular masculine; part of a pairing with ānanda in apposition or vocative address

1. which one?
2. what kind of?

Built from

• katama — root · which, what
  Interrogative pronoun from the same Indo-European base as Latin qualis (of what kind). The -ma suffix is a demonstrative/relative marker; related to Sanskrit katama and Greek póteros (which of two).
• ñca — ending · and (enclitic)
  The conjunction ca (and) in enclitic form, contracted by sandhi with the preceding final -a into -añca. It links katama to the vocative ānanda that follows.

Analysis. katamañcānanda is a rhetorical pairing joining katama (which? what?) with ānanda (Ānanda, the Buddha's cousin), most likely "Which one, Ānanda?" — a common formulaic opening in suttas where the Buddha poses a question to Ānanda before answering it himself. The -ñca is the enclitic conjunction ca (and) with sandhi contraction.

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

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