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ajja

indeclinable (adverb)

1. today; now

Built from

• a- — prefix · toward, present
  Marks proximity to the speaker and the immediate moment. Related to Sanskrit ā, with roots in Indo-European *h₂ 'toward here'.
• ja — root · born, arisen
  From √jan 'to be born, arise' (Sanskrit jan, English kin, genus). The present moment is that which has just arisen or come into being.

Etymology. From a- (toward) + ja (born, arisen): literally 'what has arisen (now)', the present moment. Related to Sanskrit aja and to the root √jan 'to be born' (English kin, generate; Latin genus). The prefix a- here means 'toward the speaker' or marks the proximal present, giving the sense of what is immediately at hand.

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

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