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nappajānāti

pr 3rd sg of nappajānāti (verb)

1. does not know; does not clearly understand; does not distinguish; lit. does not actively know

Built from

• na — prefix · not, without
  Negation particle, plain denial. Cognate with English 'no', Greek ou.
• pa — prefix · forward, forth
  Intensifying prefix. The image is of knowledge that steps forth distinctly; cognate with Latin pro-.
• jānā — root · know, recognize
  From Indo-European *ǵneh₃-. Cognates: Latin gnōscō, Greek gignṓskō, English 'know', German 'kennen'.
• ti — ending · 3rd singular present
  Active present indicative ending marking third person singular; -ti is the characteristic marker of present tense in Pali verbs.

Analysis. na + pajānāti: negative particle na + pajānāti (knows distinctly). The prefix pa- (forward, forth) applied to jānāti (knows) creates pajānāti 'knows clearly, understands'; the negation na- denies this understanding.

Etymology. From na (not, without; cognate with English 'no', Latin negō) + pa- (forward, forth; cognate with Latin pro-, Greek pro-) + √jñā (to know; cognate with Latin gnōscō, English 'know'). The root √jñā is ancient Indo-European, seen in Greek gignṓskō and Germanic *kan-.

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

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