Where does “般若” come from?

般若 (Middle Chinese) comes from Sanskrit प्रज्ञा, from Sanskrit ज्ञा, from Proto-Indo-Aryan ȷ́naH-, from Proto-Indo-Iranian ǰnaH-, from Proto-Indo-European ǵneh₃- — to know.

Ancestry of “般若”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Sanskritप्रज्ञाfeminine singular nominative of प्रज्ञ; wisdom,...
2Sanskritज्ञाto know
3Proto-Indo-Aryanȷ́naH-—
4Proto-Indo-IranianǰnaH-—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanǵneh₃-to know

Words derived from “般若”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵneh₃- →Every word from Proto-Indo-Iranian ǰnaH- →Every word from Proto-Indo-Aryan ȷ́naH- →