ब्राह्मण

Borrowed from Sanskrit ब्राह्मण (brāhmaṇa). Doublet of बाम्हन (bāmhan).

• (Delhi) IPA^(key): /bɾɑːɦ.məɳ/,

ब्राह्मण • (brāhmaṇ) m (Urdu spelling بْراہْمَن)

1. a Brahmin (member of the highest caste of Hinduism traditionally regarded as priests)

• जाति (jāti, “caste”)

ब्राह्मण m (feminine ब्राह्मणी)

1. Devanagari script form of brāhmaṇa (“brahmin”)

Vṛddhi derivative of ब्रह्मन् (brahman), most likely from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“to become high, rise, elevate”).^[1] Less likely, cognate with Latin flāmen (“priest”) via a hypothetical root *bʰlag-, but this presents phonetic problems.^[2] In any case, synchronically equivalent to the root √bṛh (“to grow, swell”).^[3]

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /bɾɑ́ːɦ.mɐ.ɳɐ/
• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /ˈbɾɑːɦ.mɐ.ɳɐ/

ब्राह्मण • (brāhmaṇa) stem

1. relating to or given by a Brahmin, befitting or becoming a Brahmin

ब्राह्मण • (brāhmaṇa) stem, m (feminine ब्राह्मणी)

1. one who has divine knowledge (sometimes applied to Agni), a Brahmin, a man belonging to the 1st of the 3 twice-born classes and of the 4 original divisions of the Hindu body (generally a priest, but often in the present day a layman engaged in non-priestly occupations although the name is strictly only applicable to one who knows and repeats the Veda)
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 6.75.10:

     ब्राह्म॑णासः॒ पित॑रः॒ सोम्या॑सः शि॒वे नो॒ द्यावा॑पृथि॒वी अ॑ने॒हसा॑ ।
     पू॒षा नः॑ पातु दुरि॒तादृ॑तावृधो॒ रक्षा॒ माकि॑र्नो अ॒घशं॑स ईशत ॥

     brā́hmaṇāsaḥ pítaraḥ sómyāsaḥ śivé no dyā́vāpṛthivī́ anehásā.
     pūṣā́ naḥ pātu duritā́dṛtāvṛdho rákṣā mā́kirno agháśaṃsa īśata.

     May the brāhmaṇas, the progenitors presenters of the Soma, the observers of truth, protect us; may the faultless heaven and earth be propitious to us; may Pūṣan preserve us from misfortune, let no calumniator prevail over us.

2. a Brahmin in the second stage (between मात्र (mātra) and श्रोत्रिय (śrotriya))
3. name of the 28th lunar mansion

ब्राह्मण • (brā́hmaṇa) stem, n

1. that which is divine, the divine
2. sacred or divine power
3. the Brahmana portion of the Veda (as distinct from its mantra and Upanishad portion)
4. the soma vessel of the Brahmin priest
5. a society or assemblage of Brahmins, a conclave