bonze

[bonz]

noun

1. a Buddhist monk, especially of Japan or China.

bonze

/ bɒnz /

noun

1. a Chinese or Japanese Buddhist priest or monk

Word History and Origins

Origin of bonze¹

1580–90; < Middle French < Portuguese bonzo or New Latin bonzius < Japanese bonsō, bonzō ordinary priest ( bon- ordinary + sō priest < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese f án-sēng ); or < dialectal Japanese bonzu for bōzu priest

Word History and Origins

Origin of bonze¹

C16: from French, from Portuguese bonzo , from Japanese bonsō , from Sanskrit bon + sō priest or monk

Example Sentences

Rodell Aure Rosel, as the slimy marriage broker, Goro, and Wei Wu, as the angry monk Bonze, were both characterful in a silent movie kind of way.

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“Wily and ruthless, Delphic and adept, he is the best of breed of a new kind of back room bonze,” the profile continued, using another word for Buddhist monk.

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“It is people’s viewpoint that has changed,” said Aparajita Jain, the director of Nature Morte, a New Delhi-based based gallery that is presenting Ms. Mukherjee’s knotted hemp sculptures and bonze works in “Woven.”

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He’s painted himself in the style of a bonze, looking a little bit Japanese.

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In a bit of “luxury casting,” Daniel Sumegi proved an unusually powerful Bonze; Ryan Bede was the hapless Yamadori, and Sarah Mattox gave unexpected and lovely depth to the small but pivotal role of Kate Pinkerton.

Read more on Seattle Times