bonze

[ bonz ]

noun

1. a Buddhist monk, especially of Japan or China.

bonze

/ bɒnz /

noun

1. a Chinese or Japanese Buddhist priest or monk

Word History and Origins

Origin of bonze¹

1580–90; < Middle French < Portuguese bonzo or New Latin bonzius < Japanese bonsō, bonzō ordinary priest ( bon- ordinary + sō priest < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese f án-sēng ); or < dialectal Japanese bonzu for bōzu priest

Word History and Origins

Origin of bonze¹

C16: from French, from Portuguese bonzo , from Japanese bonsō , from Sanskrit bon + sō priest or monk

Example Sentences

Rodell Aure Rosel, as the slimy marriage broker, Goro, and Wei Wu, as the angry monk Bonze, were both characterful in a silent movie kind of way.

From Los Angeles Times

“Wily and ruthless, Delphic and adept, he is the best of breed of a new kind of back room bonze,” the profile continued, using another word for Buddhist monk.

From Washington Post

“It is people’s viewpoint that has changed,” said Aparajita Jain, the director of Nature Morte, a New Delhi-based based gallery that is presenting Ms. Mukherjee’s knotted hemp sculptures and bonze works in “Woven.”

From New York Times

He’s painted himself in the style of a bonze, looking a little bit Japanese.

From Literature

In a bit of “luxury casting,” Daniel Sumegi proved an unusually powerful Bonze; Ryan Bede was the hapless Yamadori, and Sarah Mattox gave unexpected and lovely depth to the small but pivotal role of Kate Pinkerton.

From Seattle Times