atman

[ aht-muh n ]

/ ˈɑt mən /

noun Hinduism.

the principle of life.

the individual self, known after enlightenment to be identical with Brahman.

(initial capital letter) the World Soul, from which all individual souls derive, and to which they return as the supreme goal of existence.

Nearby words

Also at·ma

[aht-muh] /ˈɑt mə/.

Origin of atman

First recorded in 1775–85, atman is from the Sanskrit word ātman breath, self

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for atma

Are they going to start something now that will get Atma in jail?
Plays|Susan Glaspell
In a frenzy I broke my way through the attendants, and rushed through hall and corridor to my Atma's chamber.
The Captain of the Pole-Star and Other Tales|Arthur Conan Doyle
In Sanscrit that eternal part is called by many names, but the best seems that used in this passage, Atma.
Thoughts on Life and Religion|Friedrich Max Mller

British Dictionary definitions for atma

atman

/ (ˈaːtmən) /

noun Hinduism

the personal soul or self; the thinking principle as manifested in consciousness

Brahman considered as the Universal Soul, the great Self or Person that dwells in the entire created order

Word Origin for atman

from Sanskrit ātman breath; compare Old High German ātum breath

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for atma

atman

1785, from Sanskrit atma "essence, breath, soul," from PIE *etmen "breath" (a root found in Sanskrit and Germanic, cf. Old English æðm, Dutch adem, Old High German atum "breath," Old English eþian, Dutch ademen "to breathe").