sutra

UK: /ˈsuːtrə/ US: (so̅o̅′trə)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

su•tra  (so̅o̅′trə), n. 

1. Eastern Religions [Hinduism.] a collection of aphorisms relating to some aspect of the conduct of life.
Pali, sut•ta  (sŏŏt′ə). [Buddhism.] any of the sermons of Buddha.
2. Linguistics one of the approximately 4000 rules or aphorisms that constitute Panini's grammar of Sanskrit.

• Sanskrit sūtra
• 1795–1805

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

sutra / ˈsuːtrə/ noun

1. Sanskrit sayings or collections of sayings on Vedic doctrine dating from about 200 ad onwards
2. (modifier) of or relating to the last of the Vedic literary periods, from about 500 to 100 bc: the sutra period
3. of or relating to the sutras or compilations of sutras of about 200 ad onwards
4. collections of dialogues and discourses of classic Mahayana Buddhism dating from the 2nd to the 6th centuries ad

Etymology: 19th Century: from Sanskrit sūtra, literally: thread, hence, a list of rules threaded together