Meanings
- BuddhismOne of the two primary branches of Buddhism that emerged around the 1st century BCE, which accepts non-Pali canon scriptures, and emphasizes the path of bodhisattva.
Synonyms: Great Vehicle
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounOne of the two primary branches of Buddhism that emerged around the 1st century BCE, which accepts non-Pali canon scriptures, and emphasizes the path of bodhisattva.
More synonyms by meaning
nounone of two great schools of Buddhist doctrine emphasizing a common search for universal salvation especially through faith alone; the dominant religion of China and Tibet and Japan
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Sanskritमहायान
- EnglishMahayana
Borrowed from Sanskrit महायान (mahāyāna, literally “great vehicle”).
More words from Sanskrit
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 大乘佛教, 北傳佛教 /北传佛教
- 大乘佛教 (Dàchéng Fójiào)school of Buddhism
- 北傳佛教 /北传佛教 (Běichuán Fójiào)school of Buddhism
- 摩訶衍 /摩诃衍 (Móhēyǎn)school of Buddhism
Esperanto Mahajano
- Mahajanoschool of Buddhism
Greek μαχαγιάνα
- μαχαγιάνα (machagiána)school of Buddhism
Hungarian mahájána
- mahájánaschool of Buddhism
Indonesian Mahayana
- Mahayanaschool of Buddhism
Irish Búdachas Mahayana, Mahayana
- Búdachas Mahayanaschool of Buddhism
- Mahayanaschool of Buddhism
Japanese 大乗, 大乗仏教
- 大乗 (daijō)school of Buddhism
- 大乗仏教 (Daijō Bukkyō)school of Buddhism
- 摩訶衍 (makaen)school of Buddhism
Korean 대승불교, 마하연
- 대승불교 (daeseungbulgyo)school of Buddhism
- 마하연 (mahayeon)school of Buddhism
Malay Mahayana
- Mahayanaschool of Buddhism
Polish mahajana
- mahajanaschool of Buddhism
Russian Маха́яна
- Маха́яна (Maxájana)school of Buddhism
Thai มหายาน
- มหายาน (má-hǎa-yaan)school of Buddhism
Vietnamese Đại thừa
- Đại thừaschool of Buddhism
Cite this entry
Mahayana. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mahayana
“Mahayana.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mahayana. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Mahayana,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mahayana.
Source: Mahayana on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.