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gotama

masc voc sg of gotama (noun)

1. family name of the Buddha; lit. of the Gotama clan
2. name of an arahant monk; lit. of the Gotama clan
3. name of an arahant monk; lit. of the Gotama clan
4. name of an arahant monk; lit. of the Gotama clan

Etymology. A family name (gotra), possibly from go- "cattle" (cognate with English "cow", Latin "bos") + suffix -tama, suggesting "foremost among cattle-herds" or simply "of the cattle clan". Alternately, from Sanskrit Gautama, of uncertain pre-Vedic origin; the Gotama clan (Gotamā, Gotamakā) were Brahmin families known in early texts. The Buddha's given name was Siddhattha; Gotama was his family name inherited through his Śākyan ancestry.

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

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