avijjā

fem nom sg of avijjā (noun); fem nom pl of avijjā (noun); fem acc pl of avijjā (noun); fem instr sg of avijjā (noun); …

ignorance; illusion; not knowing; not understanding

Built from

a- — prefix · not, without
Plain negation. Cognates: English un-, Greek a(n)- (atheist, anonymous).
vijjā — root · knowing, knowledge
From √vid (to see, know), cognate with English wit, Latin vidēre (to see), Sanskrit veda (knowledge). The root sense is seeing or perceiving.

Etymology. Negation a- + vijjā (knowing). Central to Buddhist analysis: avijjā is the root of suffering, the fundamental not-seeing of anicca (impermanence), anattā (non-self), and dukkha (suffering). Opposed to vijjā (knowledge) and paññā (wisdom).

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

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