Definitions

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

  • noun A series of symbolic body postures and hand movements used in South Asian classical dancing or art.

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

  • noun dance, art Any of several formal symbolic hand postures used in classical dance of India and in Hindu and Buddhist iconography.
  • noun Hinduism Formal body positions and postures used in yoga and meditation.

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

  • noun ritual hand movement in Hindu religious dancing

Etymologies

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

[Sanskrit mudrā, seal, mystery, mudra, from Iranian *mudrā, perhaps ultimately from Akkadian musarû, mušarû, object bearing a royal inscription, from Sumerian mu-sar : mu, name, fame + sar, to write.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Sanskrit मुद्रा (mudrā) (seal).

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