suttee
noun
- a Hindu widow who allowed herself to be cremated alive on the funeral pyre of her husband's body
- the former Hindu custom of such self-immolation
See suttee in American Heritage Dictionary 4
sut·tee also sa·ti
noun- The now illegal act or practice of a Hindu widow's cremating herself on her husband's funeral pyre in order to fulfill her true role as wife.
- pl. sut·tees also sa·tis A widow who commits such an act.
Origin: Sanskrit satī, virtuous woman, suttee, from feminine present participle of asti, s-, she is, is true; see es- in Indo-European roots.
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