sandhi form (ye + api + assa)
Analysis. ye (relative plural nominative 'which, whichever') + api (also, even; a particle emphasizing inclusiveness) + assa (genitive singular of so 'he, that' — his, of him). Together: 'and whichever of his' or 'and whatever belongs to him.'
Etymology. ye from Indo-European *yo- (relative pronoun, cognate with English 'who', Latin qui, Greek hos); api is an old particle perhaps related to Sanskrit api 'also, even', reinforcing the sense of breadth or inclusion; assa is the genitive of the demonstrative pronoun so, from Indo-European *so- (cognate with English 'so', Latin is 'that', Greek ho). The contraction shows Pali's fluidity in speech where api loses its initial vowel before a following vowel.
Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.
Lite mode — plain HTML for e-readers and old browsers. Full version