Nirvana
Etymology
From Sanskrit nirvāṇa (“a blowing out, an extinguishing”), from nis or nir (“out”) plus vā (“to blow”). The image is a flame going out — in Buddhism, the extinction of craving and aversion that ends the cycle of rebirth. English often flattens it into ordinary “bliss.”
noun · /nir-VAH-nuh/
A state of perfect peace reached by extinguishing craving and suffering; loosely, blissful transcendence.
What it names
The release the Buddhist tradition points to — not a reward piled on top of desire, but the going-out of desire itself.
Example
A quiet house, hot coffee, and no meetings before noon — for her that was nirvana.
Related idea
Bliss is intense pleasure; nirvana is almost its opposite — the extinguishing of craving itself, not its satisfaction.