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katamehi

katama

masc instr pl of katama (interr); nt instr pl of katama (interr); masc abl pl of katama (interr); nt abl pl of katama (interr)

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

Built from

• ka- — root · who, what
  Interrogative stem from PIE *kwo-, appearing in Latin quī (who?), quod (what), Greek pós (who?), English who. The root carries the sense of pointing to an unknown or plural set.
• -tama — ending · superlative or qualitative extension
  Suffix that extends the interrogative base with intensive or comparative force, forming katama from the interrogative stem ka-. This appears also in Sanskrit katara- (which of two) and katama- (which of many).
• -hi — ending · instrumental plural
  Pali instrumental plural ending -hi attaches to the neuter stem katama, marking plural agency or instrumentality (with what things?).

Etymology. From PIE *kwo- (interrogative stem), the base of Latin quī, Greek pós, Sanskrit katara-. Pali katama is the regular masculine form with the suffix -ma (comparative or qualitative extension); cognate with Sanskrit katara-, katama-.

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

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