| / English Dictionary |
BRAHMAN
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Any of several breeds of Indian cattle; especially a large American heat and tick resistant greyish humped breed evolved in the Gulf States by interbreeding Indian cattle and now used chiefly for crossbreeding
Synonyms:
Bos indicus; Brahma; Brahman; Brahmin
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("Brahman" is a kind of...):
bovine (any of various members of the genus Bos)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "Brahman"):
zebu (domesticated ox having a humped back and long horns and a large dewlap; used chiefly as a draft animal in India and east Asia)
Holonyms ("Brahman" is a member of...):
Bos; genus Bos (wild and domestic cattle; in some classifications placed in the subfamily Bovinae or tribe Bovini)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The highest of the four varnas: the priestly or sacerdotal category
Synonyms:
brahman; brahmin
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("brahman" is a kind of...):
varna ((Hinduism) the name for the original social division of Vedic people into four groups (which are subdivided into thousands of jatis))
Meronyms (members of "brahman"):
brahman; brahmin (a member of the highest of the four Hindu varnas)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A member of the highest of the four Hindu varnas
Example:
originally all brahmans were priests
Synonyms:
brahman; brahmin
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("brahman" is a kind of...):
Hindoo; Hindu; Hindustani (a native or inhabitant of Hindustan or India)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "brahman"):
smarta (one of a group of brahmans who uphold nonsectarian orthodoxy according to the Vedanta school of Hinduism)
Holonyms ("brahman" is a member of...):
brahman; brahmin (the highest of the four varnas: the priestly or sacerdotal category)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A member of a social and cultural elite (especially a descendant of an old New England family)
Example:
a Boston brahman
Synonyms:
brahman; brahmin
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("brahman" is a kind of...):
aristocrat; blue blood; patrician (a member of the aristocracy)
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