BRAHMAN

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does Brahman mean? 

• BRAHMAN (noun)
  The noun BRAHMAN has 4 senses:

1. a member of a social and cultural elite (especially a descendant of an old New England family)

2. a member of the highest of the four Hindu varnas

3. the highest of the four varnas: the priestly or sacerdotal category

4. 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

  Familiarity information: BRAHMAN used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BRAHMAN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A member of a social and cultural elite (especially a descendant of an old New England family)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

brahman; brahmin

Context example:

a Boston brahman

Hypernyms ("brahman" is a kind of...):

aristocrat; blue blood; patrician (a member of the aristocracy)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A member of the highest of the four Hindu varnas

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

brahman; brahmin

Context example:

originally all brahmans were priests

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 3

Meaning:

The highest of the four varnas: the priestly or sacerdotal category

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

brahman; brahmin

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 4

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

Bos indicus; Brahma; Brahman; Brahmin

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)