สังฆราช

Thai

Alternative forms

• สังฆราชา

Etymology

From สังฆ (sǎng-ká-, “clergy”) +‎ ราช (râat, “king; male chief, head, or leader”); ultimately from Pali saṅgharāja (“pontiff”), from saṅgha (“clergy”) + rāja (“monarch”), possibly via Old Khmer saṅgharāja (“head of a (Buddhist) congregation”). Compare Modern Khmer សង្ឃរាជ (sɑɑngkhɔɔriəc).

Pronunciation

Orthographic		สังฆราช s ạ ŋ gʰ r ā d͡ʑ
Phonemic		สัง-คะ-ราด s ạ ŋ – g a – r ā ɗ
Romanization	Paiboon	sǎng-ká-râat
	Royal Institute	sang-kha-rat
(standard) IPA(key)		/saŋ˩˩˦.kʰa˦˥.raːt̚˥˩/(R)

Noun

สังฆราช • (sǎng-ká-râat) (classifier รูป or องค์)

1. (Buddhism)
   1. (พระ~, สมเด็จพระ~) supreme patriarch: leader of a national Buddhist clergy.
   2. (พระ~) leader of any Buddhist clergy.
2. (Roman Catholicism) (พระ~) bishop.
3. (พระ~) chief priest; high priest; hierarch; patriarch.

Usage notes

In regards to the Buddhist clergy of Thailand, the present term refers to a supreme patriarch who is a commoner. If he is a royal person, the term สังฆราชเจ้า is used instead.

Synonyms

bishop

• บิชอป (bì-chɔ́p)
• มุขนายก

 

Derived terms

• สังฆราชเจ้า
• อัครสังฆราช

 

Related terms

• สกลมหาสังฆปริณายก