มหาเถร

Thai

Alternative forms

มหาเถระ

Etymology

From มหา (má-hǎa, “grand; great”) +‎ เถร (trěe, “priest having been ordained for 10 years or more”); ultimately from Pali mahā (“grand; great”) + thera (“senior monk”), perhaps via Old Khmer mahāthera, mhāthera, mathera (“senior bhikkhu: title and rank of the monkhood”). Compare Modern Khmer មហាថេរ (mɔɔhaathee, “senior monk, especially one who has at least 10 years of seniority”).

Pronunciation

Orthographic		มหาเถร m h ā e tʰ r
Phonemic		มะ-หา-เถน m a – h ā – e tʰ n	[bound form] มะ-หา-เถ-ระ- m a – h ā – e tʰ – r a –
Romanization	Paiboon	má-hǎa-těen	má-hǎa-těe-rá-
	Royal Institute	ma-ha-then	ma-ha-the-ra-
(standard) IPA^(key)		/ma˦˥.haː˩˩˦.tʰeːn˩˩˦/	/ma˦˥.haː˩˩˦.tʰeː˩˩˦.ra˦˥./

Noun

มหาเถร • (má-hǎa-těen)

senior priest.
chief priest.

Usage notes

Historian Winai Phongsiphian (วินัย พงศ์ศรีเพียร) made a suggestion that the term was once used as an ecclesiastical title for a senior priest having been ordained for 15 years at least, as distinguished from เถร (trěe), referring to one that has been ordained for 10 years at least.^[1]

Derived terms

มหาเถรสมาคม

References

↑ Phongsīphīan, Winai. (2011). Čhārưk phǭkhun rām khamhǣng จารึกพ่อขุนรามคำแหง (King Ram Khamhaeng Inscription) (in Thai). Bangkok: Office of the Basic Education Commission. Page 12.

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[1] Phongsīphīan, Winai. (2011). Čhārưk phǭkhun rām khamhǣng จารึกพ่อขุนรามคำแหง (King Ram Khamhaeng Inscription) (in Thai). Bangkok: Office of the Basic Education Commission. Page 12.