Roshi
/ˈroʊ.ʃi/noun
A Japanese Zen title for a senior teacher or master.
Did you know?Rōshi is written 老師, combining the characters for “old” and “teacher,” though in Zen it traditionally signals respected spiritual maturity rather than age alone.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Chinese
Chinese
老師
“Old or respected teacher”
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
老 師
“A venerable teacher; the source of the Sino-Japanese reading”
Heian–Kamakura Periods
Japanese
老師 (rōshi)
“An honorific term for a teacher or master, especially in Buddhist contexts”
19th–20th Century
Japanese
rōshi
“A senior Zen teacher or meditation master”
Modern English
English
roshi
“A Zen master or senior Zen teacher”