NOUN (3)

1. a Hindu or Buddhist religious leader and spiritual teacher;

2. each of the first ten leaders of the Sikh religion;

3. a recognized leader in some field or of some movement;
- Example: "a guru of genomics"

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Gooroo \Goo*roo"\, Guru \Gu*ru"\ (g[=oo]*r[=oo]"), n. [Hind.
   gur[=u] a spiritual parent or teacher, Skr. guru heavy,
   noble, venerable, teacher. Cf. Grief.]
   1. A spiritual teacher, guide, or confessor among the Hindus;
      a guru. --Malcom.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (g[=oo]"r[=oo]) one who has expert knowledge of a
      technical area and serves as an advisor to others; an
      expert and teacher. Usually written guru.
      [PJC]

   3. (g[=oo]"r[=oo]) an intellectual or spiritual guide or
      advisor; a mentor. Usually written guru.
      [PJC]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Guru \Gu"ru\ (g[=oo]"r[=oo]), n.
   Same as gooroo.
   [PJC]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

guru
    n 1: a Hindu or Buddhist religious leader and spiritual teacher
    2: each of the first ten leaders of the Sikh religion
    3: a recognized leader in some field or of some movement; "a
       guru of genomics"

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

89 Moby Thesaurus words for "guru":
   Brahman, Ramwat, abecedarian, angel, authority, bairagi, bashara,
   bhikhari, bhikshu, boss, bwana, certified teacher, chef, chief,
   church dignitary, docent, doctor, dominie, don, ecclesiarch,
   educationist, educator, elder, elder statesman, employer, fellow,
   goodman, great soul, guide, holy man, husband, illuminate,
   instructor, intellect, intellectual, liege, liege lord, lord,
   lord paramount, lover of wisdom, maestro, mahatma,
   man of intellect, man of wisdom, mandarin, master, mastermind,
   melamed, mentor, mullah, oracle, overlord, padrone, pandit,
   paramount, paterfamilias, patriarch, patron, pedagogist, pedagogue,
   philosopher, preceptor, professor, pujari, pundit, purohit, rabbi,
   rishi, sage, sahib, saint, sannyasi, sapient, savant, scholar,
   schoolkeeper, schoolmaster, schoolteacher, seer, seigneur,
   seignior, starets, teacher, thinker, vairagi, wise man,
   wise old man, yogi, yogin



The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):

guru
 n.

    [Unix] An expert. Implies not only wizard skill but also a history of
    being a knowledge resource for others. Less often, used (with a qualifier)
    for other experts on other systems, as in VMS guru. See source of all good
    bits.


The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

guru

    An expert, especially in "Unix guru".  Implies not
   only wizard skill but also a history of being a knowledge
   resource for others.  Less often, used (with a qualifier) for
   other experts on other systems, as in "VMS guru".

   See source of all good bits.

   [Jargon File]

   (1996-06-01)