Tendai

noun Ten·dai \ ˈten¦dī \

Definition of Tendai

plural -s

: a Japanese Buddhist sect founded in the 9th century a.d. by Dengyo Daishi that is the doctrinal equivalent of the Chinese T'ien T'ai sect

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Origin and Etymology of tendai

Japanese, from Chinese (Pekingese) t'ien¹ t'ai² t'ien t'ai, from T'ien¹ T'ai², mountain in Chekiang province, eastern China, where the doctrine was first formulated