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dharma

 [dahr-muh, duhr-]   Example Sentences Origin

dhar·ma

   [dahr-muh, duhr-]
noun Hinduism, Buddhism.
1.
essential quality or character, as of the cosmos or one's own nature.
2.
conformity to religious law, custom, duty, or one's own quality or character.
3.
virtue.
4.
religion.
5.
law, especially religious law.
EXPAND
6.
the doctrine or teaching of the Buddha.
COLLAPSE
Pali, dham·ma  [duhm-uh] .

Origin:
1790–1800; < Sanskrit: custom, duty, akin to dhārayati holds, maintains

Related forms
dhar·mic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Dharma is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
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Example Sentences
  • Dharma is a yoga instructor/dog trainer raised by hippie parents.
Collins
World English Dictionary
dharma (ˈdɑːmə)
 
—n
1.  Hinduism social custom regarded as a religious and moral duty
2.  Hinduism
 a.  the essential principle of the cosmos; natural law
 b.  conduct that conforms with this
3.  Buddhism ideal truth as set forth in the teaching of Buddha
 
[Sanskrit: habit, usage, law, from dhārayati he holds]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

dharma
1796, in secular sense, "caste custom, right behavior;" in Buddhism and Hinduism, "moral law," from Skt., "law, right, justice," related to dharayati "holds," and cognate with L. firmus, all from PIE base *dher- "to hold, support" (see firm (adj.)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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