พระ
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Thai
Alternative forms
- (obsolete)
Etymology
From Old Khmer bra or Angkorian Old Khmer braḥ, braḥh, brah (literally “distinguished; divine; excellent; holy; sacred; superior; etc”), likely from Sanskrit वर (vara, “best; excellent; foremost; holy; precious; top; valuable; etc”); see Khmer ព្រះ (prĕəh) for more.
Compare Old Khmer vraḥ, vraḥh, vrah, vrahh, vrāʼaḥ, brā; Angkorian Old Khmer vraḥ, vraḥha, vraḥh, vrah, vras, vrāḥ.
Cognate with Modern Khmer ព្រះ (prĕəh); Lao ພະ (pha), ພຣະ (pha ra). Compare also Burmese ဘုရား (bhu.ra:), Old Javanese phra, Javanese bra. Doublet of พร (pɔɔn) and วร (wɔɔn)
Pronunciation
| Orthographic | พระ b r a | |
| Phonemic | พฺระ b ̥ r a | |
| Romanization | Paiboon | prá |
| Royal Institute | phra | |
| (standard) IPA(key) | /pʰraʔ˦˥/(R) | |
Noun
พระ • (prá)
- god, deity; priest, royal person; also used as an honorific or term of address.
- 1 Chronicles 10:10, KJV:
- เจ้าฟ้าธรรมธิเบศไชยเชษฐ์สุริยวงศ์, กาพย์เห่เรือ:
- representation, as image, statue, sculpture, etc, of such person.
- used as an honorific for or term of address to anyone or anything relating to a god, deity, priest, or royal person, or to a representation of such person.
- (historical) the Thai noble rank above หลวง (lǔuang) and below พระยา (prá-yaa); holder of this rank.
- male protagonist, as in a literary work, drama, etc.
Usage notes
When used as the honorific according to the third definition, the term may be combined with other terms to form more elegancy. Examples are:
| Terms | Literal meaning | Application | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gods | High priests | Royals | |||
| พระบรมมหาราช (prá-bɔɔ-rom-má-hǎa-râat-chá-) | sacred, supreme, great, royal |  |
For monarchs | ||
| พระบรม (prá-bɔɔ-rom-má-) | sacred, supreme | |
For monarchs | ||
| พระบรมราช (prá-bɔɔ-rom-má-râat-chá-) | sacred, supreme, royal | |
For monarchs | ||
| พระบวร (prá-bɔɔ-wɔɔ-rá-) | sacred, exalted | |
For princes of the Front Palace | ||
| พระบวรราช (prá-bɔɔ-wɔɔ-rá-râat-chá) | sacred, exalted, royal | |
For princes of the Front Palace | ||
| พระปรม (prá-bpɔɔ-rá-má-) | sacred, supreme | |
For monarchs | ||
| พระพุทธ (prá-pút-tá-) | sacred, Buddhist | |
|
For Buddhas and Buddhist high priests | |
| พระมหา (prá-má-hǎa-) | sacred, great | |
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| พระมหาราช (prá-má-hǎa-râat-chá-) | sacred, great, royal | |
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| พระมหาสมณ (prá-má-hǎa-sà-má-ná-) | sacred, great, ecclesiastical | |
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| พระราช (prá-râat-chá-) | sacred, royal | |
For high-ranking royals | ||
| พระวร (prá-wɔɔ-rá-) | sacred, excellent | |
For high-ranking royals | ||
| พระสมณ (prá-sà-má-ná-) | sacred, ecclesiastical | |
|||
| พระสุร (prá-sù-rá-) | sacred, celestial | |
For high-ranking royals | ||
See also
- (noble ranks) บรรดาศักดิ์ (ban-daa-sàk); สมเด็จเจ้าพระยา (sǒm-dèt-jâao-prá-yaa), เจ้าพระยา (jâao-prá-yaa), พระยา (prá-yaa), พระ (prá), หลวง (lǔuang), ขุน (kǔn), หมื่น (mʉ̀ʉn), พัน (pan), นาย (naai) (Category: Thai noble ranks)