means The practice of deliberately focusing or quieting the mind — often through breath, attention, or stillness — to cultivate calm, awareness, or insight.

from From Latin meditatio, the act of thinking over or pondering, from meditari, 'to think on, contemplate, rehearse.' That verb is rooted in the Proto-Indo-European base *med-, 'to measure, consider' — the same deep root that gives us 'measure,' 'medical,' and 'modest.' So at heart, to meditate is to take the measure of your own mind. The contemplative sense — sitting in spiritual reflection — was strengthened through Christian monastic use, long before the word picked up its modern association with cushions and breathing.