Shaolin
/ˈʃaʊ.lɪn/noun
A Buddhist monastery in Henan, China, and the martial-arts tradition associated with it.
Did you know?The Shaolin Temple was founded in 495 CE, while its worldwide martial-arts fame developed centuries later through Chinese religious, military, and popular traditions.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Chinese
Chinese
少室
“Shaoshi, the name of a mountain peak in the Songshan range”
Classical Chinese
Chinese
林
“Forest or woods”
495 CE
Chinese
少林寺
“Shaolin Temple, literally the temple associated with the forest of Shaoshi”
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
少林
“The Shaolin place-name, pronounced approximately as syewX-lim”
19th Century
English
Shaolin
“An English transcription for the Chinese monastery and its Buddhist martial tradition”
Modern English
English
Shaolin
“The monastery, its school of Chan Buddhism, or its associated martial arts”