sati

¹ American  

[suh-tee, suht-ee] / sʌˈti, ˈsʌt i /

Or satī,

noun

1. a Hindu practice whereby a widow immolates herself on the funeral pyre of her husband: now abolished by law.

2. a Hindu widow who so immolates herself.

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Sati ² American  

[suh-tee, suht-ee] / sʌˈti, ˈsʌt i /

Or Satī

noun

Hindu Mythology.

1. the wife of Rudra, who immolated herself following a quarrel between her father and her husband.

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Etymology

Origin of sati

First recorded in 1780–90, sati is from the Sanskrit word satī good woman, woman devoted to her husband

Example Sentences

He said he had spent 45 days in prison on charges of sati glorification but was acquitted in January 2004 for “lack of evidence”.

From BBC • Oct. 18, 2024

After its glorification was made illegal, the group dropped sati from its name.

From BBC • Oct. 18, 2024

Scholars of the history of self-immolation typically date the phenomenon to antiquity, to early Christian martyrdoms, and particularly to the Hindu practice of sati.

From Salon • May 4, 2024

A wealthier widow, particularly from the Kshatriya or warrior caste, might throw herself on her husband’s funeral pyre in an act of ritual suicide known as sati.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

He tried to stop sati among the Hindus, and polygamy among the Mussulmans.

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 09 by Johnson, Rossiter