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A.Word.A.Day--mahatma Pronunciation: WAV or RealAudio mahatma (muh-HAT-muh) noun 1. In India and Tibet, one of a class of persons venerated for great knowledge and love of humanity. 2. Mahatma. Used as a title of respect for a person renowned for spirituality and high-mindedness. [Sanskrit mahatma : maha-, great. See meg-. + atma, life, spirit.] "How could our `mahatma of mulch` Ketzel Levine excite such emotion." Holiday Gift Ideas for Gardeners, Weekend Edition - Saturday (NPR), 16 Dec 1995. "On 9 January, 1915,..Gandhi landed in Bombay... Soon after..in a published letter, the poet Rabindranath Tagore conferred on him the title of 'Mahatma`, of which the literal meaning is 'great soul`. H. N. Brailsford, in H. S. L. Polak, 1949 This week's theme: loanwords from Hindi and Sanskrit. X-Bonus Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much of life. So aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something. -Henry David Thoreau

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