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brahmacārino

brahmacāri

masc dat sg of brahmacāri (noun); masc gen sg of brahmacāri (noun); masc nom pl of brahmacārī (adj); masc acc pl of brahmacārī (adj); …

1. brahmacāri (masc): celibate man; spiritual practitioner
2. brahmacārī (adj): celibate; chaste; abstaining from sexual intercourse; holy
3. brahmacārī (masc): celibate man; who abstains from sexual intercourse
4. brahmacārī (adj): living the holy life; following the spiritual path

Built from

• brahma — root · brahman, the Absolute
  Relates to the sacred and the priesthood in Hindu-Vedic traditions. Cognate with Latin flāmen 'priest' (both from √bhṛ 'bear, carry').
• cāri — root · walk, move, go
  From √car 'to move or walk'. Cognate with English 'caravan' and Latin 'carrus' 'wagon'. The -ī ending forms an agent noun: one who walks.

Analysis. brahma- + cāri: brahma- relates to brahman (ultimate reality, the Absolute, or the brahminical priesthood); cāri is from √car (move, go), so literally 'one who moves/walks in brahma' or 'brahma-walker', designating the spiritual practitioner who follows the path of the holy life.

Etymology. The first part, brahma-, stems from Sanskrit brahman (related to Latin flāmen, a priest, and the root √bhṛ 'bear, carry'—the brahmin being the 'bearer' of sacred knowledge); the second part derives from √car 'to move, go, walk' (cognate with English 'caravan', Latin 'carrus', and related to √kram 'step'). The compound reflects the Vedic idiom of describing spiritual practice as a 'path' or 'walk'.

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

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