conditional particle “if,” constructed either with Indicative (ito ce pi yojanasate viharati even if he lived 100 y. from here DN.i.117) or Conditional (tatra ce tumhe assatha kupitā DN.i.3), or Potential (passe ce vipulaṃ sukhaṃ Dhp.290)
■ Always enclitic (like Lat. que) & as a rule placed after the emphasized word at the beginning of the sentence: puññañ ce puriso kayirā Dhp.118; brāhmaṇo ce tvaṃ brūsi Snp.457. Usually added to pronouns or pron. adverbs ahañ ce va kho pana ceteyyaṃ DN.i.185; ettha ce te mano atthi SN.i.116, or combined with other particles, as noce, yañce, sace (q.v.). Freq. also in combination with other indef. interrog. or emphatic particles, as ce va kho pana if then, if now: ahañ ce va kho pana pañhaṃ puccheyyaṃ DN.i.117; ahañ ce va kho pana abhivādeyyaṃ DN.i.125; api (pi) ce even if: api ce vassasataṃ jīve mānavo Snp.589.
Vedic ced; ce = Lat. que in absque, ne-c, etc., Goth. h in ni-h. see also ca 3