*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of lama

Etymology tree Proto-Sino-Tibetan Tibetan བླ (bla) Tibetan མ (ma) Tibetan བླ་མ (bla ma)bor. English lama Borrowed from Tibetan བླ་མ (bla ma).

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A master of Tibetan Buddhism.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Sino-Tibetan Tibetan བླ (bla) Tibetan མ (ma) Tibetan བླ་མ (bla ma)bor. English lama Borrowed from Tibetan བླ་མ (bla ma).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "bo:བླ་མ",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1",
        "id": "buddhism"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Sino-Tibetan\nTibetan བླ (bla)\nTibetan མ (ma)\nTibetan བླ་མ (bla ma)bor.\nEnglish lama\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Sino-Tibetan\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"children\" : [ ], \"lang\" : \"sit-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Tibetan\", \"term\" : \"བླ\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"bo\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Tibetan\", \"term\" : \"མ\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"bo\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Tibetan\", \"term\" : \"བླ་མ\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"bo\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"lama\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"buddhism\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"lama\" id=\"English:_buddhism\">\nBorrowed from Tibetan བླ་མ (bla ma)."
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    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "བླ",
      "བླ#Tibetan"
    ],
    [
      "མ",
      "མ#Tibetan"
    ],
    [
      "བླ་མ",
      "བླ་མ#Tibetan"
    ],
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      "བླ་མ",
      "བླ་མ#Tibetan"
    ]
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  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A master of Tibetan Buddhism."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Alternative form of llama.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

No narrative was extracted for this section. Available source templates and references appear below; no ancestor chain has been invented to fill the gap.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

lamé (fabric with silver or gold threads woven in)

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Spanish lama (“lamé”).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for lama →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-bGFtYQ