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bhikkhave

bhikkhu

masc voc pl of bhikkhu (noun)

1. bhikkhave (masc): monks
2. bhikkhu (masc): monk; monastic; mendicant; fully ordained monk; lit. beggar

Built from

• bhikkhu — root · beggar; monk
  Sanskrit bhikṣu, from bhikṣ- 'to beg'. The concrete image of the mendicant—dependent on alms for survival—became the theological ideal of renunciation and detachment in the monastic community.
• e — ending · vocative plural
  Pali vocative plural ending -e addresses a group directly; here used to call upon or address the assembled monks in the Buddha's teachings.

Etymology. From Sanskrit bhikṣu, from the root bhikṣ- 'to beg'. Related to English beg and German Bettler 'beggar'. The word's etymological sense 'one who begs for alms' evolved in Buddhist contexts to mean 'fully ordained monastic', since early Buddhist monks lived by alms-begging. The semantic shift mirrors the Latin mendicant (from mendicus 'beggar'), which similarly elevated the condition of ritual poverty into a defining religious status.

Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.

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