I have a feeling here that although Pali does not use "a piece of" I think it is good English to do so. Word for word translation may not always work: usually it is better to translate the sense or meaning intended.

So it should be "a piece of cloth."

Piya

--- Dhammanando Bhikkhu <dhammanando@...> wrote:

> Hi Florent,
>
> > 2.Tassa sattamaa dhitaa a.t.thamaaya eka.m vattha.m adaasi.
> > his / seventh / daughter / [to] eighth / one / cloth / gave
> > His seventh daughter gave the eighth a cloth.
>
> I would translate as "one cloth" rather than "a cloth". In the above
>
> sentence the function of eka.m might be to emphasize that it was
> *one*
> cloth (and not some other number of cloths) that the man's daughter
>
> gave her sister, or it might be to imply that it was one cloth out
> of
> several cloths that had been mentioned earlier in the passage.
>
> But if the meaning were "a cloth" there would be no need for the
> numeral eka.m, for Pali nouns are just assumed to be indefinite
> unless
> modified by numerals, demonstrative adjectives, relative clauses
> etc.
>
> Best wishes,
> Dhammanando
>
>
>
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Piya Tan
Email: dharmafarer@...