bhikkhunā

bhikkhu

masc instr sg of bhikkhu (noun); masc abl sg of bhikkhu (noun)

bhikkhu (masc): monk; monastic; mendicant; fully ordained monk; lit. beggar
bhikkhunā (masc): by a monk

Built from

bhikkhu — root · beggar, mendicant
From bhikṣ-, to beg for a share; in Buddhism, one who has renounced property and lives by alms. The noun form carries the agent sense 'one who begs'.

Etymology. The root is bhikṣ- (to beg), from Indo-European *bheg- (to distribute, share out; later to beg for a share). The concrete sense 'one who begs' generalized in the monastic context to 'one who lives by alms', then 'fully ordained member of the sangha'. Sanskrit bhikṣu, Greek pheigesthai (spare, show mercy), Latin fagus (beech — one who distributes acorns?). The word crystallized in Pali as the technical term for a member of the Buddhist monastic order.

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

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