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kuto

ku

fem abl sg of ku (noun)

1. kuto (ind): from where?; where?
2. kuto (ind): how?; in what way?
3. kuto (ind): let alone; not to mention; what to say of; lit. from where
4. ku (fem): earth; ground

Built from

• ku — root · earth, ground
  Noun denoting the physical earth; used interrogatively to express origin or manner, 'from where/how'. Related to Latin cis- and Sanskrit ku-.
• to — ending · ablative
  Ablative singular ending marking source, cause, or manner. Here it transforms the noun into a particle expressing interrogation or rhetorical impossibility.

Analysis. ku (earth, ground) + to (ablative ending -to); used interrogatively and rhetorically to express difficulty or impossibility — 'from earth?' standing for 'how could this be?'

Etymology. ku (fem noun for earth, ground) is cognate with Latin cis- (on this side), Sanskrit ku- appearing in compounds with spatial sense. The ablative ending -to ('from') turns the concrete noun into an interrogative particle probing spatial/causal origin, extended to manner and rhetorical rejection.

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

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