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katthaci

indeclinable (adverb)

1. somewhere; anywhere
2. (gram) in some places; in some contexts; optionally; lit. somewhere
3. (gram) in some places; in some contexts; lit. somewhere

Built from

• ka- — root · interrogative (who/what/where)
  The interrogative-relative stem, from Indo-European *kwo-. Appears in kasmā 'why', kattha 'where', ko 'who'.
• -ttha — ending · locative-adverbial suffix
  Converts the interrogative stem to an adverbial location or manner. Cognate with Sanskrit -ttha and Greek -θι.
• -ci — ending · indefinite particle (some, any)
  Enclitic suffix marking indefiniteness and conditionality, like Sanskrit -cit or Latin -que. Softens the interrogative into a general or hypothetical sense.

Analysis. kattha (where) + ci (enclitic indefinite particle); literally 'where-some', hence 'in some place' or 'in some way'. The -ci suffix, like Greek τις (tis) or Latin -que, marks indefiniteness and generality.

Etymology. kattha is the locative/adverbial form of ka- (interrogative-relative stem for 'who/what/where'), cognate with Sanskrit kattha, Greek πόθεν (pothen) 'whence', and Latin cū/quō 'where'. The indefinite enclitic -ci parallels Sanskrit -cit and Greek -τι, both marking the vague or conditional sense ('some', 'any').

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

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