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sakideva

saki

indeclinable (sandhi form of saki + eva)

1. saki (ind): once; one time
2. sakideva (sandhi): only once; just one time
3. sakideva (sandhi): at the same time; at one moment

Built from

• saki — root · once, one time
  From √sak 'be able, suffice': one capacity, one occasion. The abstract sense 'once' derives from 'one instance in which something occurred'.
• eva — ending · only, just, even
  Emphatic particle that emphasizes the preceding word; here it reinforces the sense of singularity and exclusivity — 'one time and one time only' or 'precisely at that moment'.

Analysis. saki (once) + eva (only, just, even) — emphatic particle eva intensifies the sense of singleness, yielding 'once and only once' or 'at that one moment'.

Etymology. saki from √sak (to be able, suffice); the sense 'once' flows from 'one occasion when [something happened]'. Cognate with Sanskrit śak- (be capable), which shares the root with English 'sake' (originally 'cause, sake = thing that matters).

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

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