abhisheka

Alternative forms

• abhiseka, abhishek, abhishekh, abhishekha

Etymology

From Sanskrit अभिषेक (abhiṣeka, “consecration, anointing of a king”), from अभिसेचते (abhisecate, “he sprinkles”), from अभि (abhi, “towards, in the direction of”) + सिच् (sić, “to pour or sprinkle”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ʌbɪˈʃeɪkə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌə.bɪˈʃeɪ.kə/

Noun

abhisheka (plural abhishekas)

1. (India) A ceremony in India involving ritual washing, cleansing or anointing. [from 19th c.]
   • 1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins 2013, p. 115:

     I paid the head priest for the abhishekh and asked him if I could have some privacy for a few moments.

   • 2016, Sunil Khilnani, Incarnations, Penguin 2017, p. 145:

     The origins os the abhisheka lay in Vedic ritual; it was an intricate procedure involving several baths and changes of vestments.

References

• Philip Babcock Gove (editor), Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976 [1909], →ISBN), page 3
• Lesley Brown (editor), The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition (Oxford University Press, 2003 [1933], →ISBN), page 4

Noun

abhisheka f (plural abhishekas)

1. abhisheka (Indian ceremony involving washing, cleansing and anointing)