Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A religious formula or prayer and the holy or sacred power in it and in the officiating priest.
  • noun The holy or sacred power that is the source and sustainer of the universe.
  • noun The single absolute being pervading the universe and found within the individual; Atman.
  • noun A member of the highest of the four major castes of traditional Indian society, responsible for officiating at religious rites and studying and teaching the Vedas.
  • noun Any of a breed of beef cattle developed in the southern United States from stock originating in India and having a hump between the shoulders and a pendulous dewlap. They can tolerate heat and are often used for crossbreeding.
  • adjective Of or relating to the caste of Brahmans.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A member of the sacred or sacerdotal caste among the Hindus.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A person of the highest or sacerdotal caste among the Hindus.
  • noun (Zoöl.) the male of a variety of the zebu, or Indian ox, considered sacred by the Hindus.
  • noun a person from an old, respected, and usually wealthy family who has considerable social or political influence; -- a term used especially in New England.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun Hinduism A concept of Hinduism. Brahman is the unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe. The nature of Brahman is described as transpersonal, personal and impersonal by different philosophical schools.
  • proper noun dated a Brahmin

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the highest of the four varnas: the priestly or sacerdotal category
  • noun a member of the highest of the four Hindu varnas
  • noun any of several breeds of Indian cattle; especially a large American heat and tick resistant greyish humped breed evolved in the Gulf States by interbreeding Indian cattle and now used chiefly for crossbreeding
  • noun a member of a social and cultural elite (especially a descendant of an old New England family)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Sanskrit brahma, brahmaṇ-. Senses 2 and 3, from Sanskrit brāhmaṇa-, Brahmanic, from brahmā, brahmaṇ-, Brahman; see Brahma.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Sanskrit ब्रह्मन् (bráhman), from verbal root √bṛh ("to swell, grow, enlarge").

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