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yaksha

American  
[yok-shah] / ˈyɒkˌʃɑ /

noun

Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism.

  1. any of a class of nature spirits or deities who guard places or treasure: most are considered benevolent, but some are thought to be capricious, mischievous, or malicious.

  2. a statue depicting such a spirit, often placed guarding another deity or flanking a temple gate.

Etymology

Origin of yaksha

First recorded in 1780–90; from Sanskrit yakṣa

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.