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yaññadeva

sandhi contraction

1. just whatever; just which; whatsoever

Built from

• yaṃ — root · which (accusative)
  Accusative form of ya, the relative pronoun inherited from Indo-European (*kwo-). Cognate with Latin quem, Greek hon (hon).
• yad — root · which (nominative)
  Nominative neuter form of ya. Cognate with Latin quod, Greek hod (in compounds). The repetition creates universalizing force.
• eva — ending · just, only (particle)
  Enclitic particle of emphasis and exclusivity. Often used to mark indifference or to intensify the preceding word(s); here it seals the meaning as 'whatever at all'.

Analysis. yaṃ (accusative neuter of ya 'which') + yad (nominative neuter of ya 'which') + eva (just, only) — the first ya is attracted into sandhi form yaṃ before the second ya surfaces as yad; together they emphasize indifference or universality: 'whichever it may be, just that'.

Etymology. ya is the Indo-European relative pronoun, cognate with Latin qui/quod, Greek hoς (hos), English who/what; eva 'just, only' reinforces the sense of bare selection or emphasis.

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

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