Theravada

American

[ther-uh-vah-duh] / ˌθɛr əˈvɑ də /

noun

Buddhism.

Hinayanist name for Hinayana.

Theravada British

/ ˌθɛrəˈvɑːdə /

noun

the southern school of Buddhism, the name preferred by Hinayana Buddhists for their doctrines

"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

Etymology

Origin of Theravada

from Pali: doctrine of the elders

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Likely composed by the earliest Buddhist nuns in a variety of Indian languages between 600 and 300 B.C., the verses were later anthologized in Pali, the scriptural language of Theravada Buddhism.

From The Wall Street Journal

The holiday is also celebrated under different names in neighboring Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, which like Thailand have populations that are predominantly Theravada Buddhist.

From Seattle Times

He is also seeking donations for the world's largest Buddhist pagoda "to show the world that Theravada Buddhism is shining brightly in Myanmar", according to state media.

From Reuters

About half the population is tribal people who mainly follow Theravada Buddhism and half is Bengali who are mostly Muslim.

From Seattle Times

Shortly afterwards, at the age of 12, he moved into a monastery in Thailand to start living as a Theravada Buddhist monk.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023