guru

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

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.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɡʊɹuː/, /ˈɡuːɹuː/, /ɡʊˈɹuː/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɡʊɹ(ˌ)u/, /ˈɡu(ˌ)ɹu/, /ɡəˈɹu/

  • Audio (Mid-Atlantic US):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ʊɹuː, -uːɹuː, -uː

guru (plural gurus or guru)

1. In Indian traditions: a spiritual teacher who transmits knowledge to a shishya. [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.

   • 1939, Verrier Elwin, “The Magician and His Control of the Natural World”, in The Baiga, London: John Murray, […], section II (The Magician’s Heritage), page 342:

     The Baiga magicians derive from the old guru who succeeded Nanga Baiga. There is very great confusion about the original guru, and how he was actually related to Nanga Baiga, but there is general agreement that there were originally four great Baiga guru—Daugun, Nindhan, Danantar and Madhakawar, all four brothers.

   • 1989, Norman Jacobs, “The Classical Indian Society”, in Patrimonial Interpretation of Indian Society: Contemporary Structure and Historical Foundations, Delhi: Chanakya Publications, →ISBN, page 66:

     These guru, third, were responsible for insuring that the populace would not be tempted to support heterodox world renouncers and their counter-patrimonial ideas. In contrast to the pre-classical Brahmin scholars, who serviced only their own and certain ruler and elite religion-social interests, the guru were the patronal guides of the masses, offering prebendal control of the deities through charismatic but morally expounded magic and psychological compensation as personal confessors, in return for popular willingness to conform to the dharmic rules, as interpreted by guru to be sure.

   • 1994, Simon Rae, “Kiniteken Si Pemena: The Original Belief”, in Breath Becomes the Wind: Old and New in Karo Religion, Dunedin: University of Otago Press, →ISBN, part I (The Karo World), page 19:

     Many of the deities and beliefs recorded by the guru are in fact unknown to the common people, and some represent the esoteric knowledge of only a few guru.

   • 2010 May 10, “Madonna is my guru”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian‎^[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 September 2022:

     Traditionally, a guru is a spiritual teacher who guides a student on the road to Enlightenment, or finding God.

2. (India) Any general teacher (as a term of respect).
3. (sometimes humorous) An influential advisor or mentor. [from 20th c.]
   • 2004 October 18, “Vintage technology”, in Time:

     Many oenophiles rely on the ratings and recommendations of wine guru Robert Parker when selecting the perfect bottle.

4. (derogatory) A fraudster or conman relying on a projected air of confidence in an obscure field.
   • 2012, John D. Rooke (Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta), “Meads v. Meads, 2012 ABQB 571”, in CanLII‎^[3]:

     OPCA gurus are modern legal alchemists. They promise gold, but their methods are principally intended to impress the gullible, or those who wish to use this drivel to abuse the court system. Any lack of legal success by the OPCA litigant is, of course, portrayed as a consequence of the customer’s failure to properly understand and apply the guru's special knowledge.

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

1. To act as a guru; to give wise advice

guru

1. teacher

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

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

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈɡu.ɾu]

guru m (plural gurus)

1. guru (spiritual teacher)

• “guru”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

• IPA^(key): [ˈɡuru]

guru m anim

1. guru (spiritual teacher)
2. guru (leader or expert in a field)

Also indeclinable.

Ultimately from Sanskrit गुरु (guru).

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

guru

1. A guru

• “guru”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[4] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023

• IPA^(key): /ɡu.ʁu/

• Audio:

  (file)

guru m (plural gurus)

1. alternative spelling of gourou

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

gūr̃ū m (plural gūr̃ā̀yē, possessed form gūr̃un)

1. A large leather belt, usually containing charms.

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

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

guru (plural guruk)

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

   Synonyms: tanító, mester, tanítómester

• goeroe (1901–1947)

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.

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈɡuru/ [ˈɡu.ru]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uru
• Syllabification: gu‧ru

guru (plural guru-guru or para guru)

1. (education) teacher: a person who teaches, especially one employed in a school
   1. specifically, graduate of teacher professional education
2. guru: a spiritual teacher who transmits knowledge to a shishya

• “guru” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

From Hindi गुरू (gurū, “teacher”).

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

guru m (invariable)

1. a guru (religious or spiritual leader; influential person)

• Urgu

guru

1. romanization of ꦒꦸꦫꦸ

gū̆rū

1. ablative singular of gū̆rus

guru

1. teacher

Borrowed from Malay guru, from Sanskrit गुरु (gurú).

guru

1. teacher; instructor

From Sanskrit गुरु (gurú, “teacher, sage”) via Old Javanese, from Proto-Indo-Aryan *gr̥Húṣ, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *gr̥Húš, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷr̥h₂ús (“heavy”).

• Audio (Malaysia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -u

guru (Jawi spelling ݢورو, plural guru-guru)

1. educator, teacher, instructor

• Indonesian: guru
• → Tagalog: gulo, → guro (learned)

• Edi Sedyawati, Ellya Iswati, Kusparyati Boedhijono, Dyah Widjajanti D. (1994) Kosakata Bahasa Sanskerta dalam Bahasa Melayu Masa Kini, Jakarta, Indonesia: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa. Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia, →ISBN, page 76
• Pijnappel, Jan (1875) “ݢورو goeroe”, in Maleisch-Hollandsch woordenboek, John Enschede en Zonen, Frederik Muller, page 108
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1901) “ݢورو guru”, in A Malay-English dictionary, Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh limited, page 581
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1932) “guru”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), volume I, Mytilene, Greece: Salavopoulos & Kinderlis, page 383

• “guru” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

• gvrv

• IPA^(key): /ŋʊʐʊ/

guru (Raguileo spelling)

1. A fox

Borrowed from Sanskrit गुरु (guru).

• IPA^(key): /ɡu.ru/
• Rhymes: -ru
• Hyphenation: gu‧ru

guru

1. teacher
2. long syllable

• Javanese: ꦒꦸꦫꦸ (guru)
• → Balinese: ᬕᬸᬭᬸ (guru)

• "guru" in P.J. Zoetmulder with the collaboration of S.O. Robson, Old Javanese-English Dictionary. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1982.

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

guru

1. heavy
2. venerable

guru m

1. teacher (clarification of this definition is needed)

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

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”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡu.ru/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uru
• Syllabification: gu‧ru

guru m pers (indeclinable)

1. (Hinduism) guru (spiritual teacher)
2. guru (advisor or mentor)

• guru in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• guru in Polish dictionaries at PWN

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

• Rhymes: -u
• Hyphenation: gu‧ru

guru m (plural gurus)

1. guru (spiritual teacher)

guru m or f by sense (plural gurus)

1. guru (advisor, mentor)

• baro-
• grave

Borrowed from English guru or French gourou.

guru m (plural guru)

1. guru

gȕru m anim (Cyrillic spelling гу̏ру)

1. guru

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

• IPA^(key): [ˈɡuru]

guru m pers

1. guru

May also be indeclineable.

• “guru”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

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

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

guru

1. only used in sukari guru (“jaggery”)

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡʉ̟ːrɵ/
• Rhymes: -ʉːrɵ

guru c

1. guru

• guru in Svensk ordbok (SO)

guru

1. teacher

• marguru
• parguru

• J. Warneck (1906) Tobabataksch-Deutsches Wörterbuch‎^[5], Batavia: Landsdrukkerij, page 80

guru

1. teacher (of spiritual matters or martial arts)