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sace

ind.

1. if

Built from

• sa — root · that, this
  Demonstrative pronoun from PIE *so-, cognate with Latin is (he), Greek ho (the), English that. Here it serves as the conditional subject.
• ce — root · if, conditional
  Conditional particle, cognate with Latin si and English if, from PIE *kwe-. In Pali sandhi, ce attaches directly to preceding words, creating forms like sace, tace, yace.

Analysis. Sandhi contraction of sa + ce (that + if); the particle ce marks a conditional clause, attached to the demonstrative sa (that one).

Etymology. From sa (that, this — demonstrative pronoun, from PIE *so-) + ce (if, conditional particle, cognate with Latin si, English if). The contraction binds the condition to its subject.

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

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