Buddha

[boo-duh, boo d-uh]

noun

Also called Butsu, Gautama, Gautama Buddha. Prince Siddhāttha or Siddhartha, 566?–c480 b.c., Indian religious leader: founder of Buddhism.

any of a series of teachers in Buddhism, of whom Gautama was the last, who bring enlightenment and wisdom.

(sometimes lowercase) Buddhism. a person who has attained full prajna, or enlightenment; Arhat.

Origin of Buddha

1675–85; < Sanskrit: awakened (budh- awaken, notice, understand + -ta past participle suffix)

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

Examples from the Web for buddha

Contemporary Examples of buddha

“My children are traumatised,” Than Dar told a group of reporters in front a large reclining Buddha.
Hope and Change? Burma Kills a Journalist Before Obama Arrives
Joshua Carroll
November 11, 2014
It was the first time I witnessed his balanced mix of strength and kindness, or what could be dubbed his “Buddha nature.”
The Buddhist Punk Reforming Drug Rehab
Stephen Krcmar
June 16, 2014
But the Buddha condemned both extreme luxury and extreme poverty as obstacles to enlightenment.
Complaining Like It’s 1999: ‘Fight Club,’ ‘American Beauty,’ and the Revolt of the Cubicle Drone
Arthur Chu
June 3, 2014
This is one of the meanings of the famous Zen koan, “If you see the Buddha on the road, kill him.”
The Shocking Scandal at the Heart of American Zen
Jay Michaelson
November 14, 2013
He so much embodied the ancient teachings of the Buddha, yet insisted on a completely inclusive, secular, contemporary approach.
How S.N. Goenka Changed My Life—And the Lives of Millions More
Sharon Salzberg
October 2, 2013

Historical Examples of buddha

This time it was the old Buddha of the Radiance of the Light.
The Chinese Fairy Book
Various
Not till he had promised all this did the Buddha let him out of the pagoda again.
The Chinese Fairy Book
Various
In the course of time he gained the hidden knowledge and was called Buddha.
The Chinese Fairy Book
Various
In heaven, on earth and in the Nether World only the gospel of Buddha has no limits.
The Chinese Fairy Book
Various
The followers of Buddha and the Brahmins were in direct conflict.
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII)
Various

British Dictionary definitions for buddha

buddha

noun

Buddhism (often capital) a person who has achieved a state of perfect enlightenment

an image or picture of the Buddha

Word Origin for buddha

C17: from Sanskrit: awakened, enlightened, from budh to awake, know

Buddha

noun

the Buddha ?563–483 bc, a title applied to Gautama Siddhartha, a nobleman and religious teacher of N India, regarded by his followers as the most recent rediscoverer of the path to enlightenment: the founder of Buddhism

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 buddha

Buddha

1680s, from Pali, literally "awakened, enlightened," past participle of budh "to awake, know, perceive," related to Sanskrit bodhati "is awake, observes, understands" (see bid). Title given by his adherents to the man who taught this path, Siddhartha Gautama, also known to them as Sakyamuni "Sage of the Sakyas" (his family clan), who lived in northern India 5c. B.C.E.