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brahman - 4 dictionary results

Brah⋅man

  [brah-muhn]
Use brahman in a Sentence
–noun, plural -mans. Hinduism.
1. Also, Brahmin. a member of the highest, or priestly, class among the Hindus. Compare Kshatriya, Shudra, Vaisya.
2. Also, Brahma. the impersonal supreme being, the primal source and ultimate goal of all beings, with which Atman, when enlightened, knows itself to be identical.
Origin:
1475–85; < Skt brāhmaṇa (def. 1), brahman (def. 2)

Related forms:
Brah⋅man⋅ic  [brah-man-ik] , Brah⋅man⋅i⋅cal, adjective

Brah⋅man

  [brey-muhn, brah-]
–noun
any of several breeds of Indian cattle, esp. a grayish, heat-resistant American breed raised chiefly in the Gulf States.
Origin:
1935–40; special use of Brahman priest
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Brah·man   (brä'mən)   
n.  
  1. also Brah·ma (-mə) Hinduism
    1. A religious formula or prayer and the holy or sacred power in it and in the officiating priest.
    2. The holy or sacred power that is the source and sustainer of the universe.
    3. The single absolute being pervading the universe and found within the individual; atman.
  2. also Brahmin (-mĭn) A member of the highest of the four major castes of traditional Indian society, responsible for officiating at religious rites and studying and teaching the Vedas.
  3. also Brah·ma (-mə) or Brah·min (-mĭn) One of a breed of domestic cattle developed in the southern United States from stock originating in India and having a hump between the shoulders and a pendulous dewlap. Well adapted to hot climates, it is used chiefly for crossbreeding.
adj.  also Brahmin (-mĭn) Of or relating to the caste of Brahmans.

[Sanskrit brahma, brahman-. Senses 2 and 3, from Sanskrit brāhmaṇa-, Brahmanic, from brahmā, brahmaṇ-, Brahman; see Brahma1.]
Brah·man'ic (-mān'ĭk), Brah·man'i·cal adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Brahman

Brah"man\, Brahmin \Brah"min\, n.; pl. Brahmans, Brahmins. [Skr. Br[=a]hmana (cf. Brahman worship, holiness; the God Brahma, also Brahman): cf. F. Brahmane, Brachmane, Bramine, L. Brachmanae, -manes, -mani, pl., Gr. ?, pl.] A person of the highest or sacerdotal caste among the Hindoos.

Brahman bull (Zo["o]l.), the male of a variety of the zebu, or Indian ox, considered sacred by the Hindoos.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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