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katame

katama

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

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

Built from

• kat — root · pick out, choose
  The root underlying the interrogative: to single out one item from a group. Cognate with Sanskrit katama.
• ama — ending · superlative/interrogative suffix
  Forms interrogative and superlative adjectives in Pali. Here it marks the word as a question-bearing pronoun asking which one stands out.

Etymology. Root kat- (to choose, pick out); cognate with Sanskrit katama. The interrogative force comes from the root's sense of distinction—picking out one from many. Related to English "cat" in the sense of "cutting out" a distinct item.

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

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