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seyyathidaṁrūpupādānakkhandho

seyyathidaṁ

indeclinable particle (illustrative; followed by genitive rūpa-upādāna-kkhandho 'the aggregate of clinging to form')

1. just as
2. for example
3. as if

Built from

• se — prefix · that
  Demonstrative particle establishing the subject of comparison; strengthened by yathā to create a contrastive frame.
• yathā — root · as, like, in manner that
  From *yodh-, originally "to fit together"; carries the sense of conformity and resemblance.
• idaṁ — root · this
  Deictic pronoun pointing to the concrete example that follows, anchoring the illustration in the present moment.

Analysis. Contraction of se yathā idaṁ: se (that) + yathā (as, in the manner that) + idaṁ (this), meaning "in this manner" or "as, for instance". The following word-chain rūpupādānakkhandho breaks down as rūpa (form) + upādāna (clinging, grasping) + kkhandho (aggregate), a standard doctrinal compound denoting the material substrate of clinging, one of five aggregates (khandhas) in the analysis of suffering (dukkha).

Etymology. yathā descends from Proto-Indo-European *yodh- (to bind, fit), cognate with Latin iungō (join) and English yoke; the sense shifted from joining/fitting to conforming or resembling. seyyathidaṁ as a whole grammaticalizes the comparative frame "as this is".

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

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