As a deity name
Name 784 of the Ganesha Sahasranāma — Ganesha Purana (Upasana Khanda), as taught by Sage Vyasa / Lord Ganesha
As a Hindi name
शैव
विष्णु · शिव के द्वारपाल । भृंगरीट । भृंगी · शिव की स्तुति (को॰) — Śabdasāgara
शैव · adj
[वि॰ स्त्री॰ शैवी] शिव संबंधी । शिव का । जैसे,— शैव दर्शन — Śabdasāgara
शैव · śaiva · adj.
Relating or belonging to the god Śiva — Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago, p. 741
As a Sanskrit word
Meaning
‘a worshipper or follower of Śiva’, N. of one of the three great divisions of modern Hindūism (the other two being the Vaiṣṇavas and Śāktas, qq.vv.; the Śaivas identify Śiva-rather…
Scripturally attested Verified derivationMultiple readings (4)Why this matches what you typed
The spelling you confirmed, शैव, is itself a dictionary headword — no grammatical transformation stands between what you typed and the meaning above.
Gender counterpart
The kosha attests this stem in the feminine, the masculine, and the neuter — the same name serves without alteration.
Dictionary citations
1. śaiva mf(ī)n. (fr. śiva) relating or belonging or sacred to the god Śiva, coming or derived from Śiva, R.; Kathās.; Pur. &c.
śaiva m. patr. fr. śiva, Pāṇ. iv, 1, 112
‘a worshipper or follower of Śiva’, N. of one of the three great divisions of modern Hindūism (the other two being the Vaiṣṇavas and Śāktas, qq.vv.; the Śaivas identify Śiva-rather than Brahmā and Viṣṇu-with the Supreme Being and are exclusively devoted to his worship, regarding him as the source and essence of the universe as well as its disintegrator and destroyer; the temples dedicated to him in his reproducing and vivifying character [as denoted by the Liṅga q.v.] are scattered all over India; the various sects of Śaivas are described in RTL. 86 &c.)
a particular religious rite in honour of Durgā (consisting of devout meditation and prostration of the body), MW.
the thorn-apple, L.
Alternative readings
More than one analysis survives full verification. That ambiguity is real, so we show every reading rather than pick one silently.
Caveats
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