athassa

sandhi contraction (atha + assa)

then there could be
then his; as his
then for him

Built from

atha — root · then, at that time
An archaic temporal deictic marking a point or transition in narrative. Cognate with Sanskrit atha and possibly Greek árti.
assa — stem · he might be; his/him (dative/genitive)
Third-person singular optative of the copula atthi (to be), from root *as-; or genitive/dative singular of ayo (self, reflexive). The optative expresses possibility or potential ('there could be'); the oblique case shows possession or indirect object.

Analysis. atha (then, at that time) + assa (3rd sg. optative of atthi 'to be', or genitive/dative singular of ayo 'self'). The form contracts when atha's final -a meets assa's initial vowel in rapid speech or metrical contexts.

Etymology. atha is an old temporal adverb (cognate with Sanskrit atha, Greek árti 'just now'); assa derives from the root *as- 'to be' (cognate with Latin esse, English is). The contraction reflects Pali's sandhi rules where two vowels in hiatus may elide or merge.

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

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