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avihānaṁ

avihāna

accusative singular neuter of avihāna (adjective)

1. without delay
2. immediately
3. swiftly

Built from

• a — prefix · not, without
  Plain negation; cognate with English un-, Greek a(n)-.
• vi — prefix · apart, asunder
  Separating or intensifying; cognate with dvi 'two', works like Latin dis-.
• hā — root · leave, abandon
  To leave something behind, hence delay or put-off; related to English have (in the sense 'hold').
• na — ending · adjective substantive suffix
  Nominalizes the root into an abstract noun or adjective; -ana formations often express habitual or characteristic action.

Analysis. a- (not, without) + vihāna (delay, from vi- + √hā 'to leave, abandon'): literally 'without leaving (time) aside'

Etymology. The prefix a- negates vihāna (delay). Vi- bears the sense of 'apart, asunder', and √hā relates to 'leave' or 'abandon', so vihāna originally means 'putting aside' or 'delay'. English cognates: un- (for a-), away (for √hā).

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

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