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tepi

ta

pronoun (3rd person plural nominative) + particle

1. ta (pron): that
2. ta (letter): (gram) letter t; 24th letter of the alphabet; dental sibilant
3. ti (card): three (3)
4. ti (ve): (gram) ti; verbal ending of the present tense 3rd person singular
5. tumha (pron): you
6. te (pron): they; those
7. te (pron): them; those
8. te (pron): you; to you (object)
9. …

Built from

• te — root · they (nom.)
  3rd person plural nominative form of the demonstrative pronoun ta-. Emphasizes the subject in narrative or logical discourse.
• pi — ending · also, even
  Enclitic particle (api) that attaches to preceding words to mark inclusion, emphasis, or addition of an item to a set. Common in both prose and verse for continuity.

Analysis. te (3rd person plural nominative pronoun) + api (particle meaning 'also, even'); final -e drops before initial -a- of api in sandhi, and the p assimilates to the following vowel or remains.

Etymology. te is the 3rd person plural of the demonstrative ta- (that, those), cognate with Sanskrit tá- and Proto-Indo-European *to- (seen in English 'the', Latin 'iste', Greek 'to'); api is an enclitic particle from PIE *apo- (away, off), originally 'then, afterwards', here marking emphasis or inclusion of another item in a series.

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

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