Etymology

daruma

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Today it means: A hollow, round, Japanese traditional doll modeled after Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen sect of Buddhism. Full definition →

Japanese 達磨 ← Sanskrit धर्म
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The story

  1. Sanskrit · derived fromधर्म“law; morality; code”
  2. Japanese · borrowed from達磨
  3. English todaydaruma

Borrowed from Japanese 達磨 (daruma), from Sanskrit धर्म (dhárma, “law; morality; code”), used as a clipping of 菩提達磨 (Bodaidaruma, “Bodhidharma”). Doublet of Dharma.

Words from the same roots

Sanskritधर्म all →

dharma

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.