guru means in Indian traditions: a spiritual teacher who transmits knowledge to a shishya.
guru is pronounced /ˈɡʊɹuː/.
Why “guru” is a great word
A spiritual teacher or revered mentor, especially in Indian traditions, who imparts knowledge and guidance to a disciple. From Hindi गुरु (guru) / Punjabi ਗੁਰੂ (gurū), from Sanskrit गुरु (guru, "heavy, weighty, venerable, respectable"), from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʷreh₂- ("heavy"), first attested in English c. 1806. Unlike a "mentor," with its secular, professional guidance, or an "instructor," bound to specific skills, the guru implies a gravity of wisdom that promises to reorient a life. It is the hand resting on the crown of your head in silent initiation, the gaze that has already seen through your question, the unspoken contract that knowledge will cost you everything you were—the slow, heavy sinking into understanding from which you cannot rise unchanged.
Etymology
Borrowed 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) describes the syllables gu as “darkness” and ru as “destroyer”, thus ascribing the meaning of “one who destroys/dispels darkness” to the word.
noun
- In Indian traditions: a spiritual teacher who transmits knowledge to a shishya.“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.”
- Any general teacher (as a term of respect).
- An influential advisor or mentor.“Many oenophiles rely on the ratings and recommendations of wine guru Robert Parker when selecting the perfect bottle.”
- A fraudster or conman relying on a projected air of confidence in an obscure field.“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.”
verb
- To act as a guru; to give wise advice
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- shishya 91% match — In Indian traditions: a disciple who receives spiritual knowledge from a guru. vs guru →
- guruji 89% match — A guru or spiritual teacher. vs guru →
- parampara 87% match — A particular guru's lineage. vs guru →
- satguru 87% match — In Hinduism and Buddhism, a great teacher; a supremely wise guide. vs guru →
- gurukula 86% match — A residential school in India with pupils living near the guru, often in the same house. vs guru →
- gurukul 85% match — A type of school in India and in several other countries, residential in nature, with pupils living near the guru, often within the same house. vs guru →
- maharishi 85% match — A teacher of Hindu mysticism. vs guru →
- yogacharya 85% match — A teacher of yoga used as a respectful title vs guru →