‹ Back to the text

notevettha

sandhi contraction

1. only no in this case; just no here

Built from

• no — root · not
  Negation, from ne 'not' + u (emphatic particle). Cognate to English 'no', German 'nein'.
• iti — ending · saying, thus
  Quotative or assertive particle, from √i 'to go', used to mark what follows as speech or assertion. Grounds the negation as a quoted refusal.
• eva — root · just, only, self
  Intensifying particle from *swa- 'self' (cognate English 'self', German 'selbe', Sanskrit sva-). Emphasizes the immediacy and force of the negation.
• ettha — ending · here, in this case
  Locative demonstrative (from *eta- 'that', with locative -tha). Anchors the negation to the present context or moment. Cognate to English demonstratives 'that', 'this'.

Analysis. no + iti + eva + ettha; a colloquial contraction expressing emphatic negation: 'not indeed, in this very place/case'. The particle iti marks quotation or assertion; eva intensifies; ettha grounds the negation locally. Common in dialogue to dismiss a claim sharply.

Etymology. no (< ne + u, 'not') + iti (from √i 'go', here 'saying', 'asserting') + eva (< *swa 'self', intensifying particle, cognate to English 'self', Sanskrit sva) + ettha (< *etati, locative of demonstrative, cognate to English 'that'). The sequence fuses into a single emphatic particle of negation and refusal.

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

Lite mode — plain HTML for e-readers and old browsers. Full version