Hinayana

name

name ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    an offensive name for the early conservative Theravada Buddhism; it died out in India but survived in Sri Lanka and was taken from there to other regions of southwestern Asia wordnet
  2. 2
    a major school of Buddhism teaching personal salvation through one's own efforts wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    Theravada Buddhism.

    "1913, Buddhism, article in Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 3: Brownson–Clairvaux, It was known as the Mahayana, or Great Vehicle, in distinction to the other and earlier form of Buddhism contemptuously styled the Hinayana or Little Vehicle, which held its own in the South."

Synonyms

All synonyms
hinayana buddhism

Example

More examples

"1913, Buddhism, article in Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 3: Brownson–Clairvaux, It was known as the Mahayana, or Great Vehicle, in distinction to the other and earlier form of Buddhism contemptuously styled the Hinayana or Little Vehicle, which held its own in the South."

Etymology

Transliteration of Sanskrit हीनयान (hīnayāna, “lesser vehicle”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.