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taññeva

ta

sandhi form of taṃ + eva; demonstrative pronoun (accusative singular neuter) + emphatic particle

1. ta (pron): that
2. ta (letter): (gram) letter t; 24th letter of the alphabet; dental sibilant
3. taññeva (sandhi): that very; the selfsame
4. taṃ (pron): it; that
5. taṃ (pron): him; her; one; that person; that thing
6. taṃ (pron): you (object)
7. tumha (pron): you
8. tvaṃ (pron): you (subject)

Built from

• ta — root · that
  Demonstrative stem from PIE *tod-; the nominative stem. Appears in Latin istud, Greek to, English that.
• ṃ — ending · accusative singular
  Accusative case ending for neuter singular. Marks the object of a verb or preposition.
• eva — root · very, alone, itself
  Emphatic particle emphasizing identity, emphasis, or exclusivity. Derives from the root of being; cognate with Sanskrit eva and the PIE copula *h₁es-.

Analysis. taṃ (accusative singular neuter of ta, 'that') + eva (emphatic particle 'itself, very, alone'). The sandhi contraction assimilates the final ṃ to the following vowel, yielding taññeva. Common in the canon to emphasize identity or uniqueness: 'that very thing', 'none other than that.'

Etymology. ta descends from Proto-Indo-European *tod- (that, this), cognate with Latin is-te (that one), Greek to (the), English that. eva is an older particle of emphasis and identity, perhaps related to Sanskrit eva and the root *h₁es- (to be).

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

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