Bhikshuni

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A woman who has committed to a monastic lifestyle in specific Buddhist traditions, devoted to spiritual growth and community service through adherence to religious practices and moral precepts
2. An ordained female figure in Buddhism who dedicates her life to meditation, ritual, and ethical living, aiming for enlightenment while often supporting the broader religious community
3. A female practitioner in Buddhism who has taken vows to live a life of asceticism, focusing on spiritual development and altruism within the community through specific rituals and teachings

Etymology: The Sanskrit "bhikṣuṇī" is the feminine form of "bhikṣu," a mendicant who lives by begging alms, and the English word is simply a transliteration of the Pali "bhikkhunī," the form the word took in the Theravada scriptures. Its core meaning is therefore practical: a woman who depends on others for food and shelter because she has renounced ordinary household life. The "-ī" ending marks the feminine, a pattern visible across Indic languages, so the word reads as "female beggar" or "female mendicant" before it ever denotes a religious office. Begging was itself a spiritual discipline, a way of renouncing possessions and accepting whatever came, which is why the same word came to describe a woman who had taken monastic vows.

Synonyms: Buddhist nun