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katamo

katama

masc nom sg of katama (interr)

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

Built from

• ka- — root · what, which
  Interrogative root from Indo-European *kwo-. Appears in English who, German wer, Sanskrit ka-.
• -tama — ending · superlative/selective suffix
  Suffix marking the superlative degree and here expressing selection from a defined group. The sense 'which-most' yields 'which of the many'.

Etymology. From the interrogative root *ka- (what, who) with the suffix -tama, expressing selection from a group. The suffix -tama is identical to the superlative suffix (greatest, furthest), here giving the sense 'which of all these': literally 'which-most'. Cognate with Sanskrit katama; the root ka- appears in English who, German wer, and Sanskrit ka-, all from Indo-European *kwo-.

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

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