mondo

1
[ mon-doh ]
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noun,plural mon·dos.Zen.
  1. a question to a student for which an immediate answer is demanded, the spontaneity of which is often illuminating.

Origin of mondo

1
First recorded in 1925–30; from Japanese mondō, earlier mondau “rapid question and answer, catechesis between a rōshi (master) and student,” from Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese wèn “inquire” + “reply”

Words Nearby mondo

Other definitions for mondo (2 of 2)

mondo2

adverb
  1. very; extremely: mondo cool.

adjective
  1. large; big: a mondo history paper.

Origin of mondo

2
First recorded in 1965–70; from Italian mondo “world,” extracted from the film Mondo Cane (“A Dog's World”) (1962) and reinterpreted as an adverb in Italian or pseudo-Italian phrases such as mondo bizarro “very bizarre,” literally, “bizarre world”

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

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