Dictionary:

bonze

  (bŏnz)

A Buddhist monk, especially of China, Japan, or nearby countries.

[French, from Portuguese bonzo, from Japanese bonsō : bon, ordinary (from Middle Chinese buan, fhan) + sō, monk (from Middle Chinese səng, from Sanskrit saṃghaḥ, collection, brotherhood of monks, from saṃhanti, saṃgha-, to put together : sam, together + hanti, he strikes).]

Bonzo was an early Portuguese pronunciation of the Japanese word busso, meaning ‘Buddhist cleric’, which then came into English as ‘bonze’. It was widely used in English writings on east Asian Buddhism until the mid-20th century.