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sutra - 4 dictionary results

su⋅tra

  [soo-truh]
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–noun
1. Hinduism. a collection of aphorisms relating to some aspect of the conduct of life.
2. Pali, sut⋅ta  [soot-uh] . Buddhism. any of the sermons of Buddha.
3. one of the approximately 4000 rules or aphorisms that constitute Panini's grammar of Sanskrit.
Origin:
1795–1805; < Skt sūtra
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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su·tra   (sōō'trə)   
n.  
  1. Hinduism Any of various aphoristic doctrinal summaries produced for memorization generally between 500 and 200 B.C. and later incorporated into Hindu literature.
  2. also sut·ta (sŏŏt'ə) Buddhism A scriptural narrative, especially a text traditionally regarded as a discourse of the Buddha.

[Sanskrit sūtram, thread, sutra; see syū- in Indo-European roots.]
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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Sutra

Su"tra\, n.; pl. Sutras. [Skr. s?tra a thread, a string of rules; an aphorism; fr. siv to sew.]

1. (a) A precept; an aphorism; a brief rule. (b) A collection of such aphorisms.

2. pl. A body of Hindoo literature containing aphorisms on grammar, meter, law, and philosophy, and forming a connecting link between the Vedic and later Sanscrit literature. --Balfour (Cyc. of India).
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Sutra 
"series of aphorisms," 1801, from Skt. sutram "rule," lit. "string, thread" (as a measure of straightness), from sivyati "sew;" cognate with L. suere "to sew" (see sew). Applied to rules of grammar, law, philosophy, etc., along with their commentaries.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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