satori

English

Alternative forms

• Satori
• (biochemistry): sat

Etymology

From Japanese 悟り (satori, literally “understanding”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sæˈtɔːɹi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

satori (usually uncountable, plural satoris)

1. (Zen Buddhism) A sudden inexpressible feeling of inner understanding or enlightenment.

   Synonyms: epiphany, enlightenment

   • 1962, Philip K. Dick, The Man in the High Castle, Library of America, published 2007, page 29:

     “Slim your hips the Zen way,” Juliana said. “Lose pounds through painless satori.”

   • 2004, Martin Torgoff, Can't Find My Way Home […] , Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 115:

     What happened to the Merry Band on its trip during the summer of 1964 ranged from the cosmically sublime to the ridiculous, from peak ecstasy to full-tilt satori.

   • 2004, Daitsu Tom Wright, Jisho Warner, Shohaku Okumura (translators), Kōshō Uchiyama, Opening the Hand of Thought, Wisdom Publications, page 68,

     Satori and Zen seem to have such an intimate relationship in Japan that when somebody says “satori,” everybody immediately associates it with Zen, and vice versa.

2. (biochemistry) A mutant gene of Drosophila (a genus of fruit flies) that causes homosexual behavior in males (specifically, courtship directed to other males).
   • 2004, Erik Holland, The Nature of Homosexuality, iUniverse, page 315,

     Fruit flies with certain genetic mutations (fru and satori) display homosexual (satori males) or bisexual (fru males) behaviors.¹⁸⁷⁸ Both fru and satori males are sterile. In addition, both fru and satori mutations are also responsible for a range of defects in a male specific muscle, the muscle of Lawrence.

3. (Japanese folklore) A type of yokai, a mind-reading monkey-like monster said to dwell in the mountains of the historical Japanese provinces of Hida and Mino (present-day Gifu Prefecture).

See also

• koan

Further reading

• satori on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Satori (folklore) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• fruitless (gene) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia (Another fruit fly mutation that affects sexual behavior.)

Anagrams

• à trois, Oirats, aorist, Artois, aristo, ratios, aristo-, Sirota, raotis, Rosati

Indonesian

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 悟(さと)り (satori, “understanding, enlightment”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sa.to.ri/
• Hyphenation: sa‧to‧ri

Noun

satori (first-person possessive satoriku, second-person possessive satorimu, third-person possessive satorinya)

1. Free from discrimination.

Japanese

Romanization

satori

1. Rōmaji transcription of さとり

Latin

Noun

satōrī

1. dative singular of sator