twice-born
Americanadjective
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Hinduism. of or relating to members of the Indian castes of Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaisyas, who undergo a spiritual rebirth and initiation in adolescence.
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having undergone reincarnation.
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denoting any moral or religious experience that brings about a major reorientation of a person's character or personality.
Etymology
Origin of twice-born
1400–50, 1785–95 twice-born for def. 1; late Middle English: an epithet of Bacchus
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.
The collection’s French-born founders, John and Dominique de Menil, were observant Roman Catholics and also observant modernists — twice-born utopians, you might say, anti-extravagance, pro-transcendence.
From New York Times ● Nov. 29, 2018
Between her and the little twice-born son there was an unbreakable tie.
From The Creators A Comedy by Sinclair, May
He could not pass the twice-born throng As weariedly they walked along: With pitying heart, with tender eye, He could not in his chariot fly.
From The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Griffith, Ralph T. H. (Ralph Thomas Hotchkin)
The twice-born men their steps retrace From each sequestered bathing-place, And each his sacred gift has brought Of blossoms which his hands have sought.
From The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Griffith, Ralph T. H. (Ralph Thomas Hotchkin)
The twice-born from Saul of Tarsus to John Bunyan have dwelt much upon their sins and sorrows, seeking thereby more greatly to exalt the grace of God by which they had been saved.
From Modern Religious Cults and Movements by Atkins, Gaius Glenn
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.