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kittāvatā

indeclinable (interrogative adverb)

1. in what way?; to what extent?; in what respect?

Built from

• kiṁ — root · what
  Interrogative pronoun, neuter nominative. Cognate with Latin quid and Sanskrit kiṁ, from Indo-European *kʷid-.
• tvā — ending · manner, degree
  Old adverbial suffix forming indeclinables from bases, marking instrumental or limiting sense. Transforms the interrogative into an adverbial question.

Analysis. Compound of kiṁ (what) + tvā (suffix marking the adverbial form); literally 'in what manner or degree'.

Etymology. kiṁ is the neuter interrogative pronoun (English what, Latin quid, Sanskrit kiṁ); tvā is an old instrumental/adverbial suffix forming adverbs from adjectives and pronouns, deriving ultimately from Indo-European *-twe(h₂). The compound expresses the scope or manner of a question.

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

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