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Glite Dictionary
Lamaist

Lamaist

1 9.9
A person who follows Tibetan Buddhism led by lamas
  • noun
  • /ˈlɑːməɪst/
  • Archaic
: lamista
  • Postsocialist Mongolia has seen a revival of its traditional Tibetan Lamaist faith and reverence for Genghis Khan.

Examples

  • Many travelers are fascinated by the rituals and teachings of Lamaist monks during their visits to Tibet.

  • The Lamaist community in Mongolia holds annual festivals to celebrate their rich spiritual heritage.

  • As a Lamaist, she follows the teachings of her lama and participates in meditation practices regularly.

Surface Forms

Lamaist singular
Lamaists plural

Morphology

Lamaist = lama (transparent) = lama + ist

Formed by adding the productive suffix '-ist' to 'lama' to indicate an adherent, so meaning is directly predictable from 'lama'.

Etymology

Lamaist comes from lama, a Tibetan word meaning 'teacher' or 'spiritual leader', plus the English ending -ist meaning 'follower'. So a Lamaist is someone who follows the lamas, the teachers of Tibetan Buddhism.