Crossword clues for brahmin
brahmin
- A member of a social and cultural elite especially a descendant of an Old New England family
- Especially a large American heat and tick resistant grayish humped breed evolved in the Gulf States by interbreeding Indian cattle and now used chiefly for crossbreeding
- Breed of cattle with a hump (var.)
- Haughty and conservative member of the upper class
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Brahman \Brah"man\, Brahmin \Brah"min\, n.; pl. Brahmans, Brahmins. [Skr. Br[=a]hmana (cf. Brahman worship, holiness; the God Brahma, also Brahman): cf. F. Brahmane, Brachmane, Bramine, L. Brachmanae, -manes, -mani, pl., Gr. ?, pl.]
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A person of the highest or sacerdotal caste among the Hindus.
Brahman bull (Zo["o]l.), the male of a variety of the zebu, or Indian ox, considered sacred by the Hindus.
a person from an old, respected, and usually wealthy family who has considerable social or political influence; -- a term used especially in New England; as, a Boston brahmin.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
"member of Boston's upper class," 1823, figurative use of Brahman "member of the highest priestly Hindu caste," late 15c., from Sanskrit brahmana-s, from brahman- "prayer," also "the universal soul, the Absolute," which is of uncertain origin. Related to Brahma.
Wiktionary
n. (alternative spelling of brahmin English)
WordNet
n. a member of a social and cultural elite (especially a descendant of an old New England family); "a Boston Brahman" [syn: brahman]
a member of the highest of the four Hindu varnas; "originally all brahmans were priests" [syn: brahman]
the highest of the four varnas: the priestly or sacerdotal category [syn: brahman]
any of several breeds of Indian cattle; especially a large American heat and tick resistant grayish humped breed evolved in the Gulf States by interbreeding Indian cattle and now used chiefly for crossbreeding [syn: Brahman, Brahma, Bos indicus]
Wikipedia
Brahmin is a varna (caste) in Hinduism specialising as priests, teachers ( acharya) and protectors of sacred learning across generations.
Brahmins were traditionally responsible for religious rituals in temples, as intermediaries between temple deities and devotees, as well as rite of passage rituals such as solemnising a wedding with hymns and prayers. However, Indian texts suggest that Brahmins were often agriculturalists and warriors in ancient and medieval India.
Brahmin are traditional Hindu societies of India, Nepal and The Far East.
Brahmin may also refer to:
- Brahmaeidae, also known as "Brahmin moths", a family of insects
- Brahmin, a two headed breed of cattle found in the Fallout video game series
- Boston Brahmin, a term often used to refer to the oldest families in Boston in Massachusetts, USA
Usage examples of "brahmin".
Hence the begetting of a son is a religious duty, particularly for a Brahmin, and is one of the three debts to which he is bound during life.
Rama saw a group of Nagas converge, hissing, on an unarmed brahmin mother and her two shaven-headed sons.
Blackmail her by telling his fellow tantriks about kidnapping brahmin orphans for her?
A few saffron-and-green-clad bodies, as well as a white-clad, tonsured brahmin body or two, also lay beside them, with trishuls embedded in them.
She bent over the energetic flames fueled by prodigious amounts of ghee and the remains of the brahmin boy she had sacrificed earlier.
The chaukat was cold and empty, the last bones of the dead brahmin boy gone, the chamber dark and silent.
We are sworn to protect the seers and brahmin classes with our lives, just as they are sworn to teach us all knowledge and guide us spiritually.
One asserts the right of a brahmin to demand dakshina from a kshatriya.
Vishwamitra chanted aloud a mantra too arcane and complex for any brahmin to decipher.
Rama and Lakshman found themselves transformed into the spitting likeness of two shaven-pated chotti-sprouting brahmin acolytes, while Vishwamitra had become a paunchy, jolly-looking, red-faced pundit dressed in ritual saffron.
But an ordinary brahmin acolyte could hardly speak of such things, so he held his tongue, seething.
Had the brahmarishi been any ordinary brahmin or purohit, his head would lie at his feet by now, never mind the sin of killing a brahmin.
Vishnu-avatar Parasurama had the right idea, hewing down kshatriyas with his ax, except he should have taken his blade to brahmin necks instead.
Rama enjoyed watching the brahmacharya novice relish the sour juice with the satisfaction of a palace brahmin finishing his tenth glass of bhaang at a Holi feast.
Later, with the Hindu shift toward pacifism and nonviolence, the brahmin, or priestly caste, became predominant, with kshatriyas shifting into the second-highest position from around the fifth century A.