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bo tree

[boh]
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noun
  1. the pipal, or sacred fig tree, Ficus religiosa, of India, under which the founder of Buddhism is reputed to have attained the Enlightenment that constituted him the Buddha.
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Origin of bo tree

1860–65; partial translation of Sinhalese bogaha, equivalent to bo (< Pali bodhi < Sanskrit; see Bodhisattva) + gaha tree
Also called bodhi tree.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for bo tree

Historical Examples

  • They are afterwards hung on the sacred Bo-tree, but never burned.

    The Kingdom of the Yellow Robe

    Ernest Young

  • Making flower and other offerings to the great Bo-Tree, he walked round it.

  • Usually a bo-tree is planted on the graves of the Kandy priests.

  • They saw here the sacred Bo-tree, of which they had before been informed.

    Across India

    Oliver Optic

  • A learned thera who knew the Sinhalese Tipitaka was imported thence, as well as a branch of the Bo-tree.

British Dictionary definitions for bo tree

bo tree

noun
  1. another name for the peepul
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Word Origin

C19: from Sinhalese, from Pali bodhitaru tree of wisdom, from Sanskrit bodhi wisdom, awakening; see Bodhisattva
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 bo tree

n.

1680s, from Sinhalese bo, from Pali bodhi, short for bodhi-taru "bo tree," literally "tree of wisdom or enlightenment" (related to Sanskrit buddhah "awakened;" see bid) + taru "tree."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper