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kiñci

kaci

nt nom sg of kaci (pron); masc acc sg of kaci (pron); nt acc sg of kaci (pron)

1. kaci (pron): someone; something; anyone; anything; whoever
2. kiñci (ind): something; anything
3. kiñci (pron): some; something; anything
4. kiñci (pron): some; something; anything (object)
5. kiñci (pron): a little; small amount

Built from

• ki- — stem · some, any
  Nominative/accusative stem of the indefinite pronoun kaci. Related to the interrogative ka- and its stem ki-.
• -ñci — ending · indefinite, minimal
  Enclitic ending marking indefinite reference or small quantity; here in nominative/accusative singular neuter or masculine. The retroflex ñ results from assimilation of dental n before the affricate c-i.

Analysis. The form kiñci shows the nominative/accusative singular of kaci with dental nasal assimilation before the affricate: ki- (stem of kaci) + -ñci (ending altered by Pali phonological rules from *-ci).

Etymology. kaci is an indefinite pronoun of uncertain ultimate origin, possibly connected to the interrogative stem ka- (who, what; related to English who via Indo-European *kwo-). The suffix -ci is an enclitic particle marking indefiniteness or minimal quantity. The nasal assimilation in kiñci (retroflex ñ before affricate) is a regular Pali sandhi phenomenon.

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

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