Krishna

[krish-nuh]

noun

Hinduism. an avatar of Vishnu and one of the most popular of Indian deities, who appears in the Bhagavad-Gita as the teacher of Arjuna.

Informal. Hare Krishna.

Formerly Kistna. a river in S India, flowing E from the Western Ghats to the Bay of Bengal. 800 miles (1290 km) long.

a male given name.

Origin of Krishna

From the Sanskrit word kṛṣṇa

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

Examples from the Web for krishna

Contemporary Examples of krishna

The Krishna Movement stresses continual silent chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra in order to keep the mind focused on God.
When Gary Wright Met George Harrison: Dream Weaver, John and Yoko, and More
Gary Wright
September 29, 2014
On Sunday, friends of Krishna Upadhyaya and Ghimire Gundev received a series of anxious text messages.
World Cup Watchdogs Go Missing in Qatar
Nina Strochlic
September 5, 2014

Historical Examples of krishna

This is addressed to Yashoda, mother of Krishna, by his playmates.
My Reminiscences
Rabindranath Tagore
They want their Shyam (Krishna) to be with them there, in the midst of all these.
My Reminiscences
Rabindranath Tagore
What was represented that night was an episode in the story of Krishna.
Appearances
Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
It was symbolical; Krishna was its centre, and the rest were wooing him.
Appearances
Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
The leader, a peacock-fan flashing in his head-dress, personated Krishna.
Appearances
Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson

British Dictionary definitions for krishna

Krishna

noun

a river in S India, rising in the Western Ghats and flowing generally southeast to the Bay of Bengal. Length: 1300 km (800 miles)Also called: Kistna

Krishna

noun

Hinduism the most celebrated of the Hindu deities, whose life story is told in the Mahabharata

Derived FormsKrishnaism, noun

Word Origin for Krishna

via Hindi from Sanskrit, literally: dark, black

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 krishna

Krishna

eighth avatar of Vishnu, 1875, from Sanskrit krshnah, literally "the Black One," from PIE *kers-no-, suffixed form of root *kers- "dark, dirty" (cf. Old Church Slavonic crunu, Russian coron, Serbo-Croatian crn, Czech cerny, Old Prussian krisnas "black," Lithuanian kersas "black and white, variegated").