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jaññā

jañña

masc nom pl of jañña (adj); fem nom sg of jañña (adj); fem nom pl of jañña (adj); nt nom pl of jañña (adj); …

1. jañña (adj): lovely; precious; fine; lit. well born
2. jaññā (ger): knowing; understanding
3. jaññā (opt): could know; must understand
4. jāniyā (opt): may know; could understand

Built from

• jā — root · know, perceive
  Core Indo-European root *gn̥-, found in Sanskrit jñā, Greek gignṓskō, Latin (g)nōscō, English know, German kennen. The meaning is 'to recognize' or 'perceive'.
• ñ — ending · gerundive suffix
  The suffix -ña (here appearing as -ñā in fem nom sg/pl) marks a verbal adjective expressing obligation or fitness: 'to-be-known' or 'fit to know'.

Etymology. From √jñā (Sanskrit √jñā, Greek gignṓskō 'know', Latin (g)nōscō, English know): the root is ancient Indo-European *gn̥- 'recognize, perceive'. The gerundive jañña 'to-be-known' follows the standard Pali derivation pattern from this root.

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

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