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nāhaṁ

ahaṁ

1st person singular nominative pronoun; contraction with preverbal negative nā (for na)

1. I (not)
2. (emphatic negation of identity)

Built from

• nā — prefix · not (preverbal)
  Contraction of preverbal negation na (a-, an- = without, not) placed before the pronoun for emphatic denial. The form is metrical and rhetorical rather than standard syntax.
• ahaṁ — root · I (nominative)
  1st person singular nominative pronoun; related to Sanskrit aham and cognate with English 'I' and Latin 'ego' through Indo-European *egom. Expresses identity, agency, or self.

Analysis. nā-ahaṁ: preverbal negation particle na + 1st person singular pronative ahaṁ, contracted to nāhaṁ. In narrative or direct speech, often emphasizes denial or refusal: 'I am not' or 'It is not I.'

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

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