mantra

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit मन्त्र (mantra, literally “instrument of thought”), from Proto-Indo-Aryan *mántram, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *mántram, from Proto-Indo-European *mén-tro-m, from *men- (“to think”). Doublet of mind.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmæn.tɹə/, /ˈmʌn.tɹə/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑn.tɹə/, /ˈmæn.tɹə/, /ˈmʌn.tɹə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

mantra (plural mantras)

1. (Hinduism) The hymn portions of the Vedas; any passage of these used as a prayer.

   Synonyms: incantation, intonation, recitation

   • 2001, Gautam Chatterjee, Sacred Hindu Symbols, Abhinav Publications, →ISBN, page 36:

     This mantra is also known as Guru Mantra or Savitri Mantra. The mention of Gayatri Mantra is found in all the four Vedas where its essence has been explained repeatedly. The Rig Veda, the oldest of the Vedic scriptures, has mentioned about […]

2. (originally Hinduism) A phrase repeated to assist concentration during meditation.

   Hyponyms: gatha, om, om mani padme hum

   • 1999, Ryûichi Abé, The Weaving of Mantra: Kûkai and the Construction of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse, Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 300:

     However, the five-syllable mantra is unique, for according to Kukai, it unleashes the power of emptiness already impregnated in each letter as a primeval episode of the Dharmakaya's cosmic meditation in which he created all sorts of mantras […]

3. (by extension) A slogan or phrase often repeated.

   Synonyms: catchphrase, phrase, saying, slogan

   • 2014 November 14, Stephen Halliday, “Scotland 1-0 Republic of Ireland: Maloney the hero”, in The Scotsman‎:

     The pre-match mantra from the Scotland camp may have been of it not being a “must win” game but that fooled no-one, Poland’s win in Georgia earlier last night simply crystallised how vital it was for the Scots not to lose any more ground at this stage of an intensely competitive campaign.

Translations

See also

• aum, om

Anagrams

• Artman

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit मन्त्र (mantra).

Noun

mantra n (singular definite mantraet, plural indefinite mantraer)

1. mantra

Declension

References

• “mantra” in Den Danske Ordbog

Finnish

Etymology

From Sanskrit मन्त्र (mantra).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɑntrɑ/,
• Rhymes: -ɑntrɑ
• Syllabification^(key): mant‧ra

Noun

mantra

1. mantra

Declension

Further reading

• “mantra”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03

Anagrams

• martan

French

French Wikipedia has an article on:

mantra

Wikipedia ^fr

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɑ̃.tʁa/

• Audio

  (file)

• Audio (CAN)

  (file)

• Audio (Switzerland)

  (file)

Noun

mantra m (plural mantras)

1. mantra

Further reading

• “mantra”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Indonesian

Alternative forms

• mantera (informal)
• mantram (informal)

Etymology

From Sanskrit मन्त्र (mantra).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mantra/
• Hyphenation: man‧tra

Noun

mantra (plural mantra-mantra, first-person possessive mantraku, second-person possessive mantramu, third-person possessive mantranya)

1. spell (a formula supposed to have magical powers)

   Synonym: jampi

Derived terms

Further reading

• “mantra” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

Malay

Alternative forms

• mantera

Etymology

From Sanskrit मन्त्र (mantra).

Noun

mantra (Jawi spelling منترا, plural mantra-mantra, informal 1st possessive mantraku, 2nd possessive mantramu, 3rd possessive mantranya)

1. incantation
2. mantra

Synonyms

• jampi

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:

mantra

Wikipedia ^pl

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit मन्त्र (mantra, literally “instrument of thought”), from Proto-Indo-Aryan *mántram, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *mántram, from Proto-Indo-European *mén-tro-m, from *men- (“to think”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈman.tra/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -antra
• Syllabification: man‧tra

Noun

mantra f

1. (Hinduism) mantra (phrase repeated to assist concentration during meditation)
2. (figuratively) mantra (slogan or phrase often repeated)

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

• mantra in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• mantra in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: man‧tra

Noun

mantra m (plural mantras)

1. (Hinduism) mantra (a phrase repeated to assist concentration during meditation)
2. (figurative) mantra (a slogan or phrase often repeated)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French mantra.

Noun

mantra f (plural mantra)

1. mantra

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mântra/
• Hyphenation: man‧tra

Noun

mȁntra f (Cyrillic spelling ма̏нтра)

1. mantra (all senses)

Spanish

Spanish Wikipedia has an article on:

mantra

Wikipedia ^es

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit मन्त्र (mantra).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmantɾa/
• Rhymes: -antɾa
• Syllabification: man‧tra

Noun

mantra m (plural mantras)

1. mantra (a phrase repeated during meditation)

Further reading

• “mantra”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014