Lama

google

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mid 17th century: from Tibetan bla-ma (the initial b being silent), literally ‘superior one’.

wiktionary

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From Tibetan བླ་མ(bla ma).

lama (plural lamas)

etymonline

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lama (n.)

"Buddhist priest of Mongolia or Tibet," 1650s, according to OED from Tibetan blama "chief, high priest," with silent b-. Related: Lamaism; lamarchy. Lamasery "Buddhist monastery" (1849) is from French lamaserie, perhaps a word invented in French, as if from Persian sarai "an inn" (see caravanserai).