# satori

> English word · Noun · IPA /səˈtɔːɹi/ · frequency rank #83,714

## Definitions
1. A sudden inexpressible feeling of spiritual awakening or enlightenment, the result of meditation and study.
2. Enlightenment, epiphany.
3. A mutant gene of Drosophila, a genus of fruit flies, that causes homosexual behaviour in males (specifically, courtship directed to other males).

## Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese 悟り (satori, “understanding; (Buddhism) enlightenment, satori”), from 悟る (satoru, “to perceive; to comprehend, understand; to come to enlightenment”), from Middle Chinese 悟 (nguH, “to become aware, apprehend, realize; to awaken”) (modern Mandarin 悟 (wù)), used to translate Pali bodhi (“supreme knowledge”) or its etymon Sanskrit बोधि (bodhi, “perfect knowledge or wisdom by which a person becomes a buddha or jina; enlightened or illuminated intellect of a Buddha or jina”).
Etymology 1 sense 3 (“mutant gene of Drosophila that causes homosexual behaviour in males”) was coined by the Japanese scientist Daisuke Yamamoto in a 1991 paper, based on the Japanese term.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/satori