Where does “a-” come from?

a- (Pali) comes from Sanskrit अ-, from Proto-Indo-Iranian a-, from Proto-Indo-European n̥-, from Proto-Indo-European ne — not.

a- (Pali): no; not; non; etc; not; lacking; without; etc

Definitions

  1. no; not; non; etc; not; lacking; without; etc

Ancestry of “a-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Sanskritअ-un-, not; Used in the formation of imperfect,...
2Proto-Indo-Iraniana-un-, a-
3Proto-Indo-Europeann̥-not, un-
4Proto-Indo-Europeannenot

Words derived from “a-”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ne →