nirvana
UK /nɪəˈvɑː.nə/ · US /nɪɹˈvɑ.nə/ noun
Forms nirvanas
- noun (Buddhism) Complete cessation of dukkha; a blissful state attained through realization of sunyata; enlightened experience.
- noun (non-Buddhist, colloquial) State of paradise; heightened or great pleasure or peace; a state of universal perfection and bliss.
Synonyms
nibbana enlightenment Eden paradise heaven promised land Shangri-la
Etymology
Borrowed from Sanskrit निर्वाण (nirvāṇa, “blown or put out, extinguished”), from निस् (nis, “out”) + वा (vā, “to blow”), the second part cognate with Russian ве́тер (véter, “wind”), weather, vent and wind.
Webster’s 1913
- noun In the Buddhist system of religion, the final emancipation of the soul from transmigration, and consequently a beatific enfrachisement from the evils of wordly existence, as by annihilation or absorption into the divine. See Buddhism.
- noun Is not. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Etymology [Skr. nirvansa.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “nirvana”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details