‘Dalai’ is a Mongolian word for ‘ocean’

The title "Dalai Lama" was first conferred in 1578, when the Mongol ruler Altan Khan honored Sonam Gyatso; "dalai" is Mongolian for "ocean" and "lama" is Tibetan for "teacher." The man now counted as the First Dalai Lama, Gendun Drup, had died in 1474 — 104 years before the title existed — and received his number only in retrospect.

One of many fact-checked wonders across eight traditions at The Spring of Wisdom.