namaste

See also: namasté, namastê, and Namaste

English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Sanskrit नमस्ते (namaste, literally “salutation to you”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnʌməsteɪ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Interjection

namaste

1. A greeting (only in Indian culture-related or New Age contexts and Indianized literature)
   • 2011 October 1, Cheri Ruskus, Victory One Moment at a Time: Unlocking the Power of the Master Mind, Morgan James Publishing, →ISBN:

     First of all, Namaste to you! It is my sincere hope that the words of this book will assist you in living with full appreciation for all the moments of your life. Remember that each one is special and brings something to your life […]

   • 2013, Susan Clare, Namaste Baby: A Journey to Surrogacy in India, Troubador Publishing Ltd, →ISBN, page 241:

     I shuffled from one foot to the other outside the room, as I delayed going in. Finally, I took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and knocked on the door. 'Come in.' It seemed that Vimla was expecting me. 'Namaste.' She said, and gestured for me ...

   • 2020 August 17, Paul Bouchard, Priya’s Choice, iUniverse, →ISBN:

     "What a lovely wedding for you both. Namaste," he said, his hands in prayer formation, his smile wide and confident and sincere. “Congratulations to you both.” “Thank you, Father,” Brian said. “Namaste to you, sir,” Priya added.

Noun

namaste (plural namastes)

1. The traditional greeting when saying the word namaste, with folded hands and a slight bow.
   • 2012, Joshua Doder, Grk Adventures, Yearling Books, →ISBN, page 362:

     Krishnan introduced one of the girls as his sister. She was a small, frail-looking girl with a pretty smile. She clasped her hands, made a namaste and said, “Hello, nice meet you. My name is Karishma.” “Hello, Karishma,” said Natascha.

2. In yoga, the pose associated with this word, usually with the flat hands held palms together, fingers up, in front of the heart and a slight bow.

Translations

a greeting

• Arabic: ناماستي
• Armenian: նամաստե (namaste)
• Assamese: নমস্কাৰ (nomoskar)
• Bengali: নমস্কার (bn) (nomoskar)
• Catalan: nàmaste
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 那摩斯戴 (nàmósīdài)

• Czech: namasté
• Finnish: namaste (fi)
• French: namasté (fr)
• German: Namaste (de) n
• Gujarati: નમસ્તે (namaste)
• Hindi: नमस्ते (hi) (namaste)
• Italian: namaste, namasté, namastèe, namaskar
• Japanese: ナマステ (namasute)
• Kannada: ನಮಸ್ತೆ (namaste)
• Korean: 나마스테 (namaseute)
• Malayalam: നമസ്തേ (ml) (namastē)
• Marathi: नमस्ते (namaste)
• Nepali: नमस्ते (ne) (namaste)
• Norwegian: namaste
• Persian: نمسته (namaste)
• Polish: namaste
• Portuguese: namastê (pt), namaste
• Punjabi:

  Gurmukhi: ਨਮਸਤੇ (namsate)

  Shahmukhi: نمستے (namaste)

• Romanian: namaste
• Russian: намастэ́ n (namastɛ́), намасте́ n (namastɛ́)
• Sanskrit: नमस्ते (namaste)
• Spanish: namasté, námaste
• Swedish: namaste
• Tamil: நமஸ்தே (namastē)
• Telugu: నమస్తే (te) (namastē)
• Urdu: نمستے (namaste)

Verb

namaste (third-person singular simple present namastes, present participle namasteing, simple past and past participle namasted)

1. (intransitive) To utter "namaste".

   The yoga instructor namasted, and the class began.

Related terms

• namaskar

See also

• Appendix:Gestures/namaste

Anagrams

• Amantes, Amentas, Eastman, Eatmans, Smetana, smetana

Portuguese

Interjection

namaste

1. Alternative form of namastê