masc nom sg of yakkha (noun)
Etymology. Related to Sanskrit yakṣa, from PIE *yeg- 'to be vigorous, be active'. The word entered Pali from substrate or Dravidian sources; the Sanskrit form yakṣa itself may derive from *yaj- 'to revere, honour' (cf. yajña 'sacrifice'), making the yakṣa an entity worthy of reverence. The sense ranges from nature spirit to protective daemon to troublesome ghost, reflecting the indigenous animism absorbed into Buddhist cosmology.
Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.
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