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suttee

 - 4 dictionary results

sut⋅tee

  [suh-tee, suht-ee]
Use suttee in a Sentence
–noun
sati.
Related forms:
sut⋅tee⋅ism, noun

sa⋅ti

  [suh-tee, suht-ee]
–noun
1. a Hindu practice whereby a widow immolates herself on the funeral pyre of her husband: now abolished by law.
2. a Hindu widow who so immolates herself.
Also, sa⋅tī, suttee.

Origin:
1780–90; < Skt satī good woman, woman devoted to her husband
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To suttee
sut·tee also sa·ti   (sŭ-tē', sŭt'ē')   
n.  

  1. The now illegal act or practice of a Hindu widow's cremating herself on her husband's funeral pyre in order to fulfill her true role as wife.

  2. pl. sut·tees also sa·tis A widow who commits such an act.


[Sanskrit satī, virtuous woman, suttee, from feminine present participle of asti, s-, she is, is true; see es- 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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Word Origin & History

suttee 
"self-cremation of a Hindu widow on her husband's funeral pyre," 1786, from Hindi, from Skt. sati "virtuous woman," fem. of sat "good, wise," lit. "existing," prp. of asmi "I am" (cognate with L. esse; see essence). Properly, the word for the woman who does so. The custom was abolished in British India in 1829.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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