twice-born

American  

[twahys-bawrn] / ˈtwaɪsˈbɔrn /

adjective

1. Hinduism. of or relating to members of the Indian castes of Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaisyas, who undergo a spiritual rebirth and initiation in adolescence.

2. having undergone reincarnation.

3. born-again.

4. denoting any moral or religious experience that brings about a major reorientation of a person's character or personality.

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Etymology

Origin of twice-born

1400–50, 1785–95 twice-born for def. 1; late Middle English: an epithet of Bacchus

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

twice-born

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

But thou wert twice-born, and the Fates to thee —To make all sure—doubled thy misery.

From Poems of Henry Vaughan, Silurist, Volume II by Chambers, E. K. (Edmund Kerchever)

Members of the above castes usually wear the sacred thread which is the mark of the Dwija or twice-born, the old Brāhmans, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas.

From The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India—Volume I (of IV) by Russell, R. V. (Robert Vane)

Hence, in the later classical Sanskrit literature, the term dvija, or twice-born, is used simply as a synonym for a Brahman.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 5 "Hinduism" to "Home, Earls of" by Various

A Bráhman's form, the fiend to cloak, Fierce Ilval wore, and Sanskrit spoke, And twice-born sages would invite To solemnize some funeral rite.

From The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Griffith, Ralph T. H. (Ralph Thomas Hotchkin)