1. An ancient Indo-Aryan language of India, used as the sacred language of Theravada Buddhism and preserved in Buddhist scriptures.
Usage: proper noun when referring to the language itself; often capitalized

Examples

• Pali is the language of the earliest Buddhist texts.
• Scholars study Pali to understand ancient Buddhist philosophy.
• The Tripitaka, the Buddhist canon, was originally written in Pali.
• Many Buddhist monks learn Pali as part of their religious training.
• Pali shares linguistic features with Sanskrit and other Indic languages.