和尚
Chinese
mix together; peace; harmony; and; with; union; cap (a poem); respond in singing; soft; warm |
still; yet; to value; to esteem | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| simp. and trad. (和尚) |
和 | 尚 | |
| alt. forms | 和上 和闍/和阇 和社 鶻社/鹘社 殟社 烏社/乌社 | ||
Etymology
“Senior monk who holds the precepts-granting ceremony; preceptor” > “high priest; head monk” > “Buddhist monks in general”. First attested in the 3rd–4th centuries, as 和上.
Borrowed from Prakrit uvajjhāa, uajjhāa, ujjhāa, ojjhāa, ojhāa, ujjhā, ujjha (“teacher; religious teacher”), all ultimately derived from Sanskrit उपाध्याय (upādhyāya, “teacher; preceptor; spiritual adviser”) (Chu, 2002). The use of 上 (MC d͡ʑɨɐŋH) or 尚 (MC d͡ʑɨɐŋH) to render Prakrit jjhāa /d̚d͡ʑʱɑː.ɐ/ was probably influenced by:
- The loss of the nasal –ŋ coda in the ancient northwestern dialect of Middle Chinese, and
- The use of phono-semantic matching in transcription, with 尚 taken to mean “noble; virtuous; to revere” (idem).
Compare Pali upajjhāya, upajjhā, upajjha (“spiritual teacher or preceptor”), Hindi ओझा (ojhā, “exorcist”), Sindhi واڍو / वाढो (vāḍho, “carpenter”), Assamese ওজা (ûza, “one well-versed in any art; teacher; sorcerer”), Bengali ওঝা (ojha, “snake-charmer; exorcist”), Oriya ଓଝା (ojhā, “teacher; one who cures snake-bites; wizard; exorcist; title of blacksmiths and carpenters”), Malayalam വാധ്യായന് (vādhyāyan, “teacher; family priest”), Tamil வாத்தியார் (vāttiyār, “teacher; family priest; one who trains actors and dancers”).
Alternative theories, such as those put forth by Tang Dynasty monks Xuanying and Huiyuan, hypothesise that this was borrowed from Khotanese or language of the Shule Kingdom, but these appear less likely.
Pronunciation
Noun
和尚
Synonyms
Derived terms
|
Descendants
- Japanese: 和尚 (oshō); 和尚 (kashō); 和尚 (wajō)
- Korean: 화상 (和尙, hwasang)
- Vietnamese: hoà thượng (和尚)
Japanese
Etymology 1
| Kanji in this term | |
|---|---|
| 和 | 尚 |
| お Grade: 3 |
しょう Grade: S |
| on’yomi | |
Pronunciation
Noun
和尚 (hiragana おしょう, rōmaji oshō, historical hiragana をしやう)
- (Zen or Pure Land Buddhism) Buddhist priest
- a Buddhist priest who is the head of a temple or in a higher rank.
- title and style for high ranked Buddhist priests.
- a Buddhist priest master who gives instructions to other priests.
Synonyms
- (a Buddhist priest who is the head of the temple or in a higher rank): 住職 (jūshoku)
- (a title for Buddhist priests): 和上 (wajō), 和闍 (wajō)
Etymology 2
| Kanji in this term | |
|---|---|
| 和 | 尚 |
| か Grade: 3 |
しょう Grade: S |
| on’yomi | |
Pronunciation
Noun
和尚 (hiragana かしょう, rōmaji kashō, historical hiragana くわしやう)
- (Tendai or Kegon Buddhism) preceptor; high priest
Etymology 3
| Kanji in this term | |
|---|---|
| 和 | 尚 |
| わ Grade: 3 |
しょう > じょう Grade: S |
| on’yomi | |
Pronunciation
Noun
和尚 (hiragana わじょう, rōmaji wajō, historical hiragana わじやう)
- (Shingon, Hosso, Ritsu or Shin Buddhism) preceptor; high priest
References
Vietnamese
| Hán tự in this word | |
|---|---|
| 和 | 尚 |
Noun
和尚
- Hán tự form of hoà thượng, “senior Buddhist monk”