‹ Back to the text

vijjaṁ

vijjā

accusative singular of vijjā (feminine noun)

1. knowledge, learning
2. science or art (a specialized skill)
3. higher knowledge (in doctrinal contexts, supernatural insight)

Built from

• vi- — prefix · apart, clearly
  Intensive clarity, seeing things distinctly. Works like Latin dis- in discrimination.
• jjā — stem · knowing
  From √jñā "to know", cognate with English "know", Latin "gno-" (gnosis, notice), Sanskrit jñāna.

Analysis. vi- (apart, asunder, intensive clarity) + √jñā (to know). The prefix conveys seeing clearly by separating things into distinct categories.

Etymology. From √jñā "know" with the intensive prefix vi-, cognate with Sanskrit jñāna and English "know", Latin gno- (notice, gnosis). The prefix vi- suggests the clarity of knowledge that discriminates and sees things apart.

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

Lite mode — plain HTML for e-readers and old browsers. Full version