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appajānanto

appajānanta

masc nom sg of appajānanta (prp); masc nom pl of appajānanta (prp); masc voc pl of appajānanta (prp); nt voc pl of appajānanta (prp)

1. not knowing; not clearly understanding; not distinguishing; lit. not actively knowing

Built from

• a — prefix · not, without
  Plain negation. Cognate with English un- and Greek a(n)- (atheist, anonymous).
• pa — prefix · forth, forward
  Intensifies the root toward clear discrimination. Works like Latin pro- and English forth.
• jā — root · know
  Indo-European √gn- (English know, Latin gnōscere, Greek gignōskein). Originally 'to come to know'.
• anta — ending · present participle
  Forms the active participle in -anta, marking ongoing or habitual action; agrees with masculine nominative singular or plural here.

Analysis. a- (prefix, not) + pajānati (knows distinctly) = appajānati (does not know distinctly), with -anta forming the present participle. The prefix a- negates the factual knowing expressed by pajānati.

Etymology. The root is √jñā (know), with pa- (forward, forth) intensifying it into pajānati (knows distinctly, discriminates). The prefix a- is plain negation (cognate with English un-, Greek a(n)- in atheist). So appajānanta literally 'not knowing-forth', i.e. not discriminating or not clearly apprehending.

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

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