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sakkopi

sakka

past participle + enclitic particle (sakka + api)

1. able; capable; proficient; lit. to be able
2. name of the king of the Devas; Sakka
3. Sakyan; man of the Sakyan race

Built from

• sakk- — root · be able
  √sak means 'to have power, be capable'; the -o is the masculine nominative singular ending of the participle, imaging someone in a state of capability or fitness.
• -o — ending · nom. sg.
  Nominative singular masculine participle ending, marking the subject in agreement.
• api — prefix · even, also
  Enclitic particle; as a postpositive, it softens or generalizes the preceding word, lending a concessive force ('even if able') or modal openness ('perhaps capable').

Analysis. sakko (past participle of √sak, 'be able') + api (enclitic 'even, also'); the combination means 'even if able' or 'if it is possible that'—used to introduce a concessive or conditional clause.

Etymology. √sak cognate with Sanskrit śak- and English 'sake' (in the sense of power or capability); api is an ancient enclitic particle (cognate with Latin ap- in compounds, Greek apo-), here reinforcing possibility or permission.

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

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