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jarāpi

jara

adj/masc/fem + indeclinable particle; surface form of jara + api with sandhi

1. jara (adj): old
2. jara (masc): old age; growing old; decay
3. jara (masc): fever
4. jara (root): (gram) √jar (age)
5. jaras (masc): old age; growing old; decay
6. jarā (fem): old age; ageing

Built from

• jara — root · old age, decay
  From √jar (to age, wither); refers to bodily decline and senescence, a mark of impermanence (anicca) in Buddhist teaching.
• pi — ending · even, also, indeed
  Sandhi reduction of api (particle of emphasis); reinforces that aging affects all conditioned things without exception.

Analysis. jara (old age, decay) + api (even, also, indeed) — emphasizes that even decay is inescapable; common in Dhamma contexts stressing the inevitability of aging.

Etymology. √jar (to age, wither) is cognate with Latin gērere 'to grow old, age' and Sanskrit jarā. The particle api (even, also) is cognate with Sanskrit api and may relate to Latin apud. The compound conveys doctrinal force: aging is presented as an inescapable universal fact.

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

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