guru

See also: Guru and gurú

English

WOTD – 21 June 2011

Alternative forms

goru [17th–19th c.]
gooroo [19th c.]
guroo (archaic)

Etymology

From Hindi गुरु (guru) / Punjabi ਗੁਰੂ (gurū), from Sanskrit गुरु (guru, “venerable, respectable”), originally "heavy" and in this sense cognate to English grieve and, more distantly, brute. Doublet of grave. A traditional, though flawed etymology based on the Advayataraka Upanishad (line 16)[1] describes the syllables gu as “darkness” and ru as “destroyer”, thus ascribing the meaning of “one who destroys/dispels darkness” to the word.

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɡʊɹuː/, /ˈɡuːɹuː/, /ɡʊˈɹuː/
- Audio (UK) (file)
(US) IPA^(key): /ˈɡʊɹ(ˌ)u/, /ˈɡu(ˌ)ɹu/, /ɡəˈɹu/
- Audio (Mid-Atlantic) (file)
Rhymes: -ʊɹuː, -uːɹuː, -uː

Noun

guru (plural gurus)

A Hindu or Sikh spiritual teacher. [from 17th c.]
- 1817, William Ward, History, Literature and Religion of the Hindoos, volume II:
  When the gooroo arrives at the house of a disciple, the whole family prostrate themselves at his feet, and the spiritual guide puts his right foot on the heads of the prostrate family.
- 10 May 2010, Wendy Shanker, The Guardian:
  Traditionally, a guru is a spiritual teacher who guides a student on the road to Enlightenment, or finding God.
(sometimes humorous) An influential advisor or mentor. [from 20th c.]
- 18 Oct 2004, Vintage technology‎^[Time]:
  Many oenophiles rely on the ratings and recommendations of wine guru Robert Parker when selecting the perfect bottle.

Derived terms

antiguru
gurudom
guruhood
guruism
guruji
gurulike
guruship
tech guru

Related terms

adi-guru
Bhaiṣajyaguru
gurdwara
Gurmukhi
Guru Granth Sahib
gurukul
satguru
Waheguru

Translations

spiritual teacher

Afrikaans: ghoeroe (af)
Arabic: مُعَلِّم رُوحِيّ‎ m (muʿallim rūḥiyy), جُورُو‎ (gūrū), غُورُو‎ m (ḡūrū)
Armenian: գուրու (hy) (guru)
Assamese: গুৰু (guru)
Bengali: গুরু (bn) (guru), মুর্শিদ (bn) (murśid)
Burmese: ဂုရု (gu.ru.)
Catalan: guru (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 古魯／古鲁 (gǔlǔ), 導師／导师 (zh) (dǎoshī)
Czech: guru (cs) m
Dutch: goeroe (nl) m
Esperanto: guruo
Finnish: guru (fi)
French: guru (fr) m, gourou (fr) m
Georgian: გურუ (guru)
German: Guru (de) m
Greek: γκουρού (el) m (gkouroú)
Gujarati: ગુરુ m (guru)
Hindi: गुरु (hi) m (guru), मुअल्लिम (hi) (muallim), विशारद (hi) m (viśārad)
Hungarian: guru (hu)
Indonesian: guru (id)
Japanese: グル (guru), 教祖 (ja) (kyōso)
Kannada: ಗುರು (kn) (guru)
Korean: 지도자 (ko) (jidoja), 구루 (guru)
Khmer: គរុ (km) (kĕəʼruʼ), គ្រូ (km) (kruu)
Lao: ຄຸຣຸ (khu ru), ຄູ (lo) (khū), ຄະຣຸ (kha ru)
Latin: gurus m
Macedonian: гу́ру m (gúru)
Malay: guru (ms)
Malayalam: ഗുരു (ml) (guru)
Mongolian: гүрү (mn) (gürü)
Nepali: गुरु (ne) (guru)
Oriya: ଗୁରୁ (or) (guru)
Pali: guru m
Persian: گورو‎ (guru)
Polish: guru (pl) m
Portuguese: guru (pt) m
Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ (pa) (gurū)
Russian: гу́ру (ru) m (gúru), духо́вный учи́тель m (duxóvnyj učítelʹ)
Sanskrit: गुरू (sa) m (gurū)
Serbo-Croatian: guru (sh) m
Slovak: guru m
Spanish: gurú (es) m
Thai: คุรุ (th) (kú-rú), ครู (th) (kruu)
Telugu: గురువు (te) (guruvu), విశారదుడు (te) (viśāraduḍu), కోవిదుడు (te) (kōviduḍu)
Urdu: گرو‎ m (guru)

advisor or mentor

Bengali: মুর্শিদ (bn) (murśid)
Catalan: guru (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 導師／导师 (zh) (dǎoshī)
Dutch: goeroe (nl) m
Finnish: guru (fi)
French: guru (fr) m, gourou (fr) m
German: Guru (de) m
Greek: γκουρού (el) m (gkouroú)
Hindi: गुरु (hi) m (guru)
Hungarian: guru (hu)
Macedonian: гу́ру m (gúru)
Malayalam: ഗുരു (ml) (guru)
Polish: guru (pl) m
Portuguese: guru (pt) m or f
Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ (pa) (gurū)
Russian: наста́вник (ru) m (nastávnik), учи́тель (ru) m (učítelʹ)
Sanskrit: गुरू (sa) m (gurū)
Serbo-Croatian: guru (sh) m
Spanish: gurú (es) m
Tagalog: guro (tl)

Verb

guru (third-person singular simple present gurus, present participle guruing, simple past and past participle gurued)

To act as a guru; to give wise advice

References

“Advaya Taraka Upanishad(English Translation)”, in (please provide the title of the work)‎, accessed December 15, 2011

Blagar

Noun

guru

teacher

References

Antoinette Schapper, The Papuan Languages of Timor, Alor and Pantar: Volume 1 (2014), p. 165

Catalan

Etymology

From Hindi गुरु (guru) / Urdu گرو‎ (guru) / Punjabi ਗੁਰੂ (gurū), from Sanskrit गुरु (guru, “venerable, respectable”).

Pronunciation

(Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈɡu.ɾu/

Noun

guru m (plural gurus)

guru (spiritual teacher)

Czech

Noun

guru m

guru (spiritual teacher)
guru (leader or expert in a field)

Finnish

Etymology

Ultimately from Sanskrit गुरु (guru).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɡuru/, [ˈɡuru]
Rhymes: -uru
Syllabification^(key): gu‧ru

Noun

guru

A guru

Declension

Inflection of guru (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation)
nominative		guru	gurut
genitive		gurun	gurujen
partitive		gurua	guruja
illative		guruun	guruihin
		singular	plural
nominative		guru	gurut
accusative	nom.	guru	gurut
accusative	gen.	gurun	gurut
genitive		gurun	gurujen
partitive		gurua	guruja
inessive		gurussa	guruissa
elative		gurusta	guruista
illative		guruun	guruihin
adessive		gurulla	guruilla
ablative		gurulta	guruilta
allative		gurulle	guruille
essive		guruna	guruina
translative		guruksi	guruiksi
instructive		—	guruin
abessive		gurutta	guruitta
comitative		—	guruineen

Possessive forms of guru (type valo)
possessor	singular	plural
1st person	guruni	gurumme
2nd person	gurusi	gurunne
3rd person	gurunsa

French

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɡu.ʁu/
Audio (file)

Noun

guru m (plural gurus)

Alternative spelling of gourou

Hausa

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɡúː.rúː/
- (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [ɡʷúː.rúː]

Noun

gūr̃ū m (plural gūr̃ā̀yē, possessed form gūr̃un)

A large leather belt, usually containing charms.

Hungarian

Etymology

From Hindi गुरु (guru), from Sanskrit गुरु (guru, “heavy”).[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈɡuru]
Hyphenation: gu‧ru
Rhymes: -ru

Noun

guru (plural guruk)

guru (a Hindu or Sikh spiritual teacher)
guru (leader or expert in a field)

Declension

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	guru	guruk
accusative	gurut	gurukat
dative	gurunak	guruknak
instrumental	guruval	gurukkal
causal-final	guruért	gurukért
translative	guruvá	gurukká
terminative	guruig	gurukig
essive-formal	guruként	gurukként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	guruban	gurukban
superessive	gurun	gurukon
adessive	gurunál	guruknál
illative	guruba	gurukba
sublative	gurura	gurukra
allative	guruhoz	gurukhoz
elative	guruból	gurukból
delative	gururól	gurukról
ablative	gurutól	guruktól
non-attributive possessive - singular	gurué	guruké
non-attributive possessive - plural	guruéi	gurukéi

Possessive forms of guru
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	gurum	guruim
2nd person sing.	gurud	guruid
3rd person sing.	guruja	gurui
1st person plural	gurunk	guruink
2nd person plural	gurutok	guruitok
3rd person plural	gurujuk	guruik

References

guru in Tótfalusi, István. Magyar etimológiai nagyszótár (’Hungarian Comprehensive Dictionary of Etymology’). Budapest: Arcanum Adatbázis, 2001; Arcanum DVD Könyvtár →ISBN

Indonesian

Etymology

From Malay guru, ultimately Sanskrit गुरु (gurú, “guru, teacher, sage”), from Proto-Indo-Aryan *gr̥Húṣ, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *gr̥Húš, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷr̥h₂ús (“heavy”). Doublet of brutal and bruto.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɡu.ru/

Noun

guru (plural guru-guru, para guru, first-person possessive guruku, second-person possessive gurumu, third-person possessive gurunya)

teacher

Derived terms

berguru
keguruan
menggurui
perguruan

Compounds

guru agama
guru baku
guru bantu
guru besar
guru honorer
guru kepala
guru kula
guru lagu
guru mengaji
guru penolong
guru sekolah
guru suara
guru tetap
guru wilangan

Italian

Etymology

From Hindi गुरू (gurū, “teacher”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɡu.ru/
Rhymes: -uru
Hyphenation: gù‧ru

Noun

guru m (invariable)

a guru (religious or spiritual leader; influential person)

Anagrams

Urgu

Javanese

Alternative forms

Carakan: ꦒꦸꦫꦸ
Roman: goeroe (dated)

Etymology

From Old Javanese guru.

Noun

guru (krama ngoko guru)

spiritual teacher
teacher
Synonym: dwija
(of bee) queen bee

References

“[ guru]” in Bausastra Jawa, Yogyakarta: The Linguistic Center of Yogyakarta [Balai Bahasa Provinsi Yogyakarta].

Latin

Noun

gū̆rū

ablative singular of gū̆rus

Lindu

Noun

guru

teacher

Malay

Etymology

From Sanskrit गुरु (gurú).

Pronunciation

Audio (MY) (file)

Noun

guru (Jawi spelling ݢورو‎, plural guru-guru, informal 1st possessive guruku, 2nd possessive gurumu, 3rd possessive gurunya)

educator, teacher, instructor

Descendants

Indonesian: guru
→ Tagalog: guro

Mapudungun

A red fox (Vulpes vulpes).

Alternative forms

gvrv

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ŋʊʐʊ/

Noun

guru (Raguileo spelling)

A fox

Old Javanese

Etymology

From Sanskrit गुरु (guru).

Noun

guru

teacher

Pali

Alternative forms

𑀕𑀼𑀭𑀼 (Brahmi script)
गुरु (Devanagari script)
গুরু (Bengali script)
ගුරු (Sinhalese script)
ဂုရု or ၷုရု (Burmese script)
คุรุ (Thai script)
ᨣᩩᩁᩩ (Tai Tham script)
ຄຸຣຸ (Lao script)
គុរុ (Khmer script)
𑄉𑄪𑄢𑄪 (Chakma script)

Etymology

Cognate with Sanskrit गुरु (guru). It is an assimilatory modification of garu.

Adjective

guru

heavy
venerable

Declension

Declension table of "guru" (masculine)

Case \\ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	guru	guravo or gurū
Accusative (second)	guruṃ	guravo or gurū
Instrumental (third)	gurunā	gurūhi or gurūbhi
Dative (fourth)	gurussa or guruno	gurūnaṃ
Ablative (fifth)	gurusmā or gurumhā	gurūhi or gurūbhi
Genitive (sixth)	gurussa or guruno	gurūnaṃ
Locative (seventh)	gurusmiṃ or gurumhi	gurūsu
Vocative (calling)	guru	gurave or guravo

Declension table of "gurunī" (feminine)

Case \\ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	gurunī	guruniyo or gurunī
Accusative (second)	guruniṃ or guruniyaṃ	guruniyo or gurunī
Instrumental (third)	guruniyā	gurunīhi or gurunībhi
Dative (fourth)	guruniyā	gurunīnaṃ
Ablative (fifth)	guruniyā	gurunīhi or gurunībhi
Genitive (sixth)	guruniyā	gurunīnaṃ
Locative (seventh)	guruniyā or guruniyaṃ	gurunīsu
Vocative (calling)	guruni	guruniyo or gurunī

Declension table of "guru" (neuter)

Case \\ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	guru	gurūni or gurū
Accusative (second)	guruṃ	gurūni or gurū
Instrumental (third)	gurunā	gurūhi or gurūbhi
Dative (fourth)	gurussa or guruno	gurūnaṃ
Ablative (fifth)	gurusmā or gurumhā	gurūhi or gurūbhi
Genitive (sixth)	gurussa or guruno	gurūnaṃ
Locative (seventh)	gurusmiṃ or gurumhi	gurūsu
Vocative (calling)	guru	gurūni or gurū

Noun

guru m

teacher (clarification of this definition is needed)

Declension

Declension table of "guru" (masculine)

Case \\ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	guru	guravo or gurū
Accusative (second)	guruṃ	guravo or gurū
Instrumental (third)	gurunā	gurūhi or gurūbhi
Dative (fourth)	gurussa or guruno	gurūnaṃ
Ablative (fifth)	gurusmā or gurumhā	gurūhi or gurūbhi
Genitive (sixth)	gurussa or guruno	gurūnaṃ
Locative (seventh)	gurusmiṃ or gurumhi	gurūsu
Vocative (calling)	guru	gurave or guravo

References

Pali Text Society (1921-1925), “guru”, in Pali-English Dictionary‎, London: Chipstead

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindi गुरू (gurū) / Urdu گرو‎ (guru) / Punjabi ਗੁਰੂ (gurū), from Sanskrit गुरु (gurú), from Proto-Indo-Aryan *gr̥Húṣ, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *gr̥Húš, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷr̥h₂ús (“heavy”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɡu.ru/
Audio (file)
Rhymes: -uru
Syllabification: gu‧ru

Noun

guru m pers (indeclinable)

(Hinduism) guru (spiritual teacher)
guru (advisor or mentor)

Portuguese

Etymology

From Sanskrit गुरु (gurú, “venerable, respectable”), originally "heavy", from Proto-Indo-European *gʷréh₂us.

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /ɡuˈɾu/

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɡuˈɾu/

Rhymes: -u
Hyphenation: gu‧ru

Noun

guru m (plural gurus)

guru (spiritual teacher)

Noun

guru m or f by sense (plural gurus)

guru (advisor, mentor)

Related terms

baro-
grave

Romanian

Etymology

From English guru or French gourou.

Noun

guru m (plural guru)

guru

Declension

Declension of guru

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) guru	guruul	(niște) guru	gurui
genitive/dative	(unui) guru	guruului	(unor) guru	gurulor
vocative	guruule		gurulor

Serbo-Croatian

Noun

gȕru m (Cyrillic spelling гу̏ру)

guru

Declension

Declension of guru

	singular	plural
nominative	gȕru	gurui
genitive	gȕrua	gurua
dative	guruu	guruima
accusative	gurua	gurue
vocative	guruu	gurui
locative	guruu	guruima
instrumental	guruom	guruima

Slovak

Etymology

From Hindi गुरू (gurū) / Urdu گرو‎ (guru), from Sanskrit गुरु (guru, “venerable, respectable”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɡu.ru/

Noun

guru m (genitive singular gurua, nominative plural guruovia, genitive plural guruov, declension pattern of chlap)

guru

Declension

Declension of guru

	singular	plural
nominative	guru	guruovia
genitive	gurua	guruov
dative	guruovi	guruom
accusative	gurua	guruov
locative	guruovi	guruoch
instrumental	guruom	guruami

References

guru in Slovak dictionaries at slovnik.juls.savba.sk

Swahili

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindi गुड़ (guṛ, “jaggery”).

Pronunciation

Audio (Kenya) (file)

Noun

guru

Only used in sukari guru (“jaggery”)

Swedish

Etymology

From Hindi गुरू (gurū), from Sanskrit गुरु (guru, “heavy”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɡʉ̟ːrɵ/
Rhymes: -ʉːrɵ

Noun

guru c

guru

Declension

Declension of guru
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	guru	gurun	gurur, guruer, gurus	gururna, guruernas
Genitive	gurus	guruns	gururs, guruers, gurus	gururnas, guruernas

References

guru in Svensk ordbok (SO)

Toba Batak

Noun

guru

teacher

Derived terms

marguru
parguru

References

J. Warneck (1906) Tobabataksch-Deutsches Wörterbuch‎, Batavia: Landsdrukkerij, page 80

Yakan

Noun

guru

teacher (of spiritual matters or martial arts)

[1] “Advaya Taraka Upanishad(English Translation)”, in (please provide the title of the work)‎, accessed December 15, 2011

[2] uru in Tótfalusi, István. Magyar etimológiai nagyszótár (’Hungarian Comprehensive Dictionary of Etymology’). Budapest: Arcanum Adatbázis, 2001; Arcanum DVD Könyvtár →ISBN

guru

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

References

Blagar

Noun

References

Catalan

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Further reading

Czech

Noun

Finnish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

French

Pronunciation

Noun

Hausa

Pronunciation

Noun

Hungarian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

References

Indonesian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Compounds

Further reading

Italian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Anagrams

Javanese

Alternative forms

Etymology

Noun

References

Latin

Noun

Lindu

Noun

Malay

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Descendants

Further reading

Mapudungun

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

Old Javanese

Etymology

Noun

Pali

Alternative forms

Etymology

Adjective

Declension

Noun

Declension

References