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yāvatako

yāvataka

masc nom sg of yāvataka (adj)

1. as much as; as long as; as big as; as far as

Built from

• yāvat — root · as much as, as far as
  Pronominal stem cognate with Sanskrit yāvat; used in correlative constructions to express extent, duration, or magnitude. The imagery is spatial: "reaching to" a certain point or measure.
• -aka — ending · formative/diminutive suffix
  Productive suffix forming adjectives and nouns from verbal and nominal stems; here creates an adjective expressing a quality or relation of extent.

Analysis. yāvat- (correlative pronoun, "as far as, as much as") + -aka (diminutive or formative suffix); the whole word is a correlative adjective formed from the pronominal stem yāvat-, which appears in constructions like yāvatā yāvatā ("as...as...", paired in correlatives).

Etymology. yāvataka derives from the pronominal stem yāvat-, cognate with Sanskrit yāvat (यावत्), which functions as a correlative and relative pronoun meaning "as much as, as far as, as long as." The stem likely descends from an Indo-European root *wei- or *yeu- (to go, to move), though the precise ancestry remains uncertain in the literature. The suffix -aka is a productive diminutive and formative element in Pali, here serving to create an adjective from the pronominal stem.

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

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