|
Definition of Brahman
1. Noun. A member of a social and cultural elite (especially a descendant of an old New England family). "A Boston brahman"
Generic synonyms: Aristocrat, Blue Blood, Patrician
Derivative terms: Brahminic, Brahminical
2. Noun. A member of the highest of the four Hindu varnas. "Originally all brahmans were priests"
Group relationships: Brahmin
Generic synonyms: Hindoo, Hindu, Hindustani
Specialized synonyms: Smarta
Derivative terms: Brahminic, Brahminical
3. Noun. The highest of the four varnas: the priestly or sacerdotal category.
Generic synonyms: Varna
Member holonyms: Brahmin
Derivative terms: Brahminic, Brahminical
4. Noun. Any of several breeds of Indian cattle; especially a large American heat and tick resistant greyish humped breed evolved in the Gulf States by interbreeding Indian cattle and now used chiefly for crossbreeding.
Group relationships: Bos, Genus Bos
Generic synonyms: Bovine
Specialized synonyms: Zebu
Definition of Brahman
1. n. A person of the highest or sacerdotal caste among the Hindoos.
Definition of Brahman
1. Proper noun. (Hinduism) A concept of Hinduism. Brahman is the unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this universe Universe. The nature of Brahman is described as transpersonal, personal and impersonal by different philosophical schools. ¹
2. Proper noun. (dated) a Brahmin ¹
3. Noun. A member of the first of the four castes of Hinduism, a sacerdotal class. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Lexicographical Neighbors of Brahman
Literary usage of Brahman
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. The System of the Vedânta: According to Bâdarâyaṇa's Brahma-sûtras and by Paul Deussen (1912)
"3, 1 are Brahman and Jiva. 18—17. The antara Chand. 4, 15, 1 is Brahman. 18—20.
... Brahman is the cawa efficient and causa materialis of the world. 28. ..."
2. Old Deccan Days: Or, Hindoo Fairy Legends Current in Southern India by Mary Frere, Bartle Frere (1898)
"ONCE upon a time a Brahman, who was walking along the road, came upon an iron cage,
... As the Brahman passed by, the Tiger called out and said to him, ..."
3. Chips from a German Workshop by Friedrich Max Müller, Christian Karl Josias Bunsen (1891)
"It might be objected, for instance, that brahman, neut. in the sense of creative
power or the ... In the Brahmanas, this Brahman is called the first-born, ..."
4. Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern by Edward Cornelius Towne (1897)
"How if I were to repay the brahman the cost of my nurture by making proof of my
... Said the brahman, * I have a bull who can pull a hundred loaded carts. ..."
5. Buddhist Legends by Buddhaghosa (1921)
"[138] The story goes that this Brahman once heard the Exalted One preach the Law,
... O Brahman. Knowing the destruction of the Elements of Being, ..."
6. The Library of Original Sources: Ideas that Have Influenced Civilization, in edited by Oliver Joseph Thatcher (1915)
"But neither was the young Brahman ... able to convince the young Brahman ...
said to the young Brahman ..."
7. The Historians' History of the World: A Comprehensive Narrative of the Rise by Henry Smith Williams (1904)
"In the last period of his life, the Brahman is nearly as solitary and abstracted as
... The king must have a Brahman for his most confidential counsellor; ..."