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ayoniso

ind

1. improperly; imprudently; unwisely; carelessly; lit. not according to the source

Built from

• a — prefix · not
  Plain negation; no marking of the absence. Cognate with English un-, Greek a(n)-.
• yoni — root · source, origin, womb
  The concrete image is the womb as the place from which all things come; in doctrinal use, yoniso manasikāra ('wise attention to the source') means attending to the proper ground of things, especially the four noble truths.
• -so — ending · instrumental adverb
  The instrumental case ending -so here turns the noun phrase into an adverb of manner, marking the means or condition by which the action is performed.

Analysis. a- (not) + yoni (source, origin, womb) + -so (instrumental adverb suffix); literally 'not according to the source', hence improper or irrational thinking that does not follow the proper basis of understanding.

Etymology. a- (not) + yoni (source, origin), from √yam 'to stretch, extend', the same root giving Sanskrit yoni and English words like 'genesis' through the Indo-European *geneǝ-; the instrumental -so turns the noun into an adverb meaning the manner or means by which something is done.

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

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