Etymograph

English

jnana

Jnana comes from Sanskrit ज्ञान ‘knowledge’, from ज्ञा ‘to know’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-1‘to recognise’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*ǰnaH-2reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Aryanprehistoric (reconstructed)*ȷ́naH-2reconstructed
  4. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEज्ञा1jñā‘to know’
  5. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEज्ञान1jñāna‘knowledge’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2004jnana1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English jnana
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Sanskrit ज्ञा
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2004, M. G. Chitkara, Vedic Religious Tradition: “Jnana is a direct knowing of things as they…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-Wiktionary, English jnana‘to recognise’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*ǰnaH-Wiktionary, Sanskrit ज्ञाreconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Aryanprehistoric (reconstructed)*ȷ́naH-Wiktionary, Sanskrit ज्ञाreconstructed
  4. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEज्ञाWiktionary, English jnanajñā‘to know’
  5. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEज्ञानWiktionary, English jnanajñāna‘knowledge’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2004jnanaWiktionary, English jnana. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2004, M. G. Chitkara, Vedic Religious Tradition: “Jnana is a direct knowing of things as they…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’

know, could, can, note, normal, notice, recognize, ignore, recognition, glory, con, noble, ken, narrative, notion, keen, cognitive, norm, diagnostic, notorious, ignorant, notation, nobility, cunning, cognition, prognosis, quaint, gnome, notoriety, notary, narration, incognito, agnostic, connoisseur, canny, uncouth, kith, gnosis, recognizance, annotate, 91 more

Today it means

noun The knowledge, acquired through meditation, that one's self (atman) is identical with Ultimate Reality (Brahman).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “jnana”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Sanskrit ज्ञा. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- / jnana

Shirt and support for this word