nirayo

niraya

masc nom sg of niraya (noun)

hell; hell realm; lit. no good fortune

Built from

nis — prefix · away from, without
Spatial prefix meaning 'out of' or 'without'. Cognate with Sanskrit nis; works like the negating sense in English 'nether' (the realm down and away). Here it negates or removes the quality that follows.
aya — root · going, welfare, fortune
From √i 'to go', aya denotes the positive direction of life, welfare, good fortune. Related to Sanskrit ayus 'lifespan' and the Indo-European root √*ei- 'to go, proceed'. Concretely, the good 'going' of one's fortune.

Analysis. nis + aya; nis- (out of, away from) + aya (welfare, fortune) = literally 'absence of welfare', the realm devoid of good fortune.

Etymology. nis- (away from, without) + aya (from √i 'go', welfare, good going). The prefix nis- is cognate with Sanskrit nis and Germanic roots like English 'nether'; the root aya- is related to Sanskrit ayus 'life, lifespan' and Indo-European √*ei- 'to go'. The concrete imagery: a place one goes away from all welfare.

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

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