Brahman

The Brahmans of India have long maintained that they, by their birth, are worthy of the highest respect. Buddhists borrowed the term "brahman" to apply to arahants to show that respect is earned not by birth, race, or caste, but by spiritual attainment through following the right path of practice. Some of the passages in the Itivuttaka use the word brahman in this special sense; others in a more ordinary sense. The intended sense should be obvious from the context.