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tamhāva

ta

pronoun, ablative singular + emphatic particle

1. ta (pron): that
2. ta (letter): (gram) letter t; 24th letter of the alphabet; dental sibilant
3. tamhā (pron): from that

Built from

• ta — root · that
  Demonstrative pronoun, masculine nominative singular; cognate with Sanskrit tá-, Greek tó-, Latin istud.
• mhā — ending · from
  Ablative singular suffix; marks origin or separation ('out of, from'). The dental m assimilates to the initial of the following particle.
• va — ending · even, just
  Emphatic enclitic particle (eva with initial vowel elided); intensifies the preceding word and often isolates or highlights it.

Analysis. tamhā (ablative singular of ta 'that') + eva (emphatic particle 'indeed, just, alone'); the combination strengthens the sense of origin or isolation from a specific point.

Etymology. ta is the demonstrative pronoun cognate with Sanskrit tad, Greek to (definite article), Latin istud; the ablative suffix -hā (-ā in Sanskrit) marks 'from/out of'. eva is an old emphasizing adverb, perhaps related to Sanskrit eva and Greek ē 'or' in its emphatic sense.

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

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