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tadeva

ta

pronoun (nominative/accusative neuter singular sandhi form)

1. ta (pron): that
2. tad (pron): that thing (subject or object)
3. tadeva (sandhi): just that; the same thing; that very thing; that itself

Built from

• tad — root · that (neuter)
  Stem of the demonstrative ta (nom./acc. sg. neut.). Cognate with English 'that', German 'das', from IE *to-.
• eva — prefix · itself, just
  Emphatic particle built from √i 'go'. Marks identity and exclusivity: points to the very thing named, excluding alternatives.

Analysis. tad (neuter singular of ta 'that') + eva (emphatic particle 'itself, just'), with sandhi: final -d of tad remains before initial vowel e- of eva.

Etymology. ta descends from Indo-European *to- (demonstrative 'that'); cognates: English 'that', German 'das', Latin 'istud'. The particle eva (from √i 'go') intensifies by pointing: 'it goes to that very place', hence 'that itself'. Together tadeva marks identity and exclusivity: 'not something else, but that itself'.

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

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