gati (lit. 'going'): 'course of existence', destiny, destination. "There are 5 courses of existence: hell, animal kingdom, ghost realm, human world, heavenly world" (D. 33; A. XI, 68). Of these, the first 3 count as woeful courses (duggati, s. apāya), the latter 2 as happy courses (sugati).

Buddhist Dictionary, Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines, by NYANATILOKA MAHATHERA

gati [gati] realms of existence. There are six realms of existence. They are existence as a god, a human being, an animal, a hungry spirit, a demon, or a hell-dweller. Living beings are reborn in one of the six realms of existence according to their karma. Good karma leads to rebirth as either a human being or a heavenly being; evil karma leads to birth in other realms of existence. Living beings in saṃsāra move in the planes of existence till they are liberated.  

A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma. V. 189-190. Majjhima Nikāya. Ākaṅkheyya, Bhayabherava, Dvedhāvitakka.

Buddhānusmṛti - A Glossary of Buddhist Terms

gati

(Sanskrit; Pāli, course or destination). Name for the various destinies or realms of rebirth, of which there are generally held to be six: (1) the gods (deva); (2) humans; (3) demons (asura); (4) animals; (5) hungry ghosts (pretas); (6) hell (naraka). The first three are regarded as good destinies (sugati) and the last three as woeful (durgati). Early Buddhist sources usually speak of five realms, omitting the third. See also bhavacakra.

A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 2003, 2004 (which is available in electronic version from answer.com)

gati : [f.] going; career; course; passing on to another existence; destiny; behaviour.|| ñāti (m.), a kinsman.

A.P. Buddhadatta Mahathera, Concise Pali-English and English-Pali Dictionary [available as digital version from Metta Net, Sri Lanka]

Gati (f.) [fr. gacchati; cp. Gr. ba/sis, Lat. (in -- ) ventio, Goth. (ga -- )qumps] 1. going, going away, (opp. āgati coming) (both gati & āgati usually in pregnant sense of No. 2. See āgati); direction, course, career. Freq. of the two careers of a Mahāpurisa (viz. either a Cakkavatti or a Buddha) D ii.16=Sn p. 106; Sn 1001, or of a gihī arahattaŋ patto Miln 264, with ref. to the distinction of the child Gotama J i.56. -- phassâyatanānaŋ gati (course or direction) A ii.161; jagato gati (id.) A ii.15, 17; sakuntānaŋ g. the course, flight of birds Dh 92=Th 1, 92. -- Opp. āgati Pv ii.922. -- tassā gatiŋ jānāti "he knows her going away, i. e. where she has gone" PvA 6. -- 2. going away, passing on (=cuti, opp. upapatti coming into another existence); course, esp after death, destiny, as regards another (future) existence A i.112; D ii.91; M i.388 (tassa kā gati ko abhisamparāyo? what is his rebirth and what his destiny?); in combn āgati vā gati vā (=cutûpapatti), rebirth & death M i.328, 334. In defn of saŋsāra expld as gati bhavâbhava cuti upapatti=one existence after the other Nd2 664; as gati upapatti paṭisandhi Nd2 on dhātu (also as puna -- gati rebirth). -- The Arahant as being beyond Saŋsāra is also beyond gati: yassa gatiŋ na jānanti devā gandhabba -- mānusā Dh 420=Sn 644; yesaŋ gati n' atthi Sn 499; and Nibbāna coincides with release from the gatis: gativippamokkhaŋ parinibbānaŋ SnA 368. -- attā hi attano gati "everybody is (the maker of) his own future life" Dh 380; esā maccharino gati "this is the fate of the selfish" Pv iii.114; sabbagatī te ijjhantu "all fate be a success to you" J v.393; gato so tassa yā gati "he has gone where he had to go (after death)" Pv i.122. <-> 3. behaviour, state or condition of life, sphere of existence, element, especially characterized as sugati & duggati, a happy or an unhappy existence. gati migānaŋ pavanaŋ, ākāso pakkhīnaŋ gati, vibhavo gati dhammānaŋ, nibbānaŋ arahato gati: the wood is the sphere of the beasts, the air of the birds, decay is the state of (all) things, Nibbāna the sphere of the Arahant Vin v.149=SnA 346; apuññalābho ca gatī ca pāpikā Dh 310; duggati J i.28; avijjāy' eva gati the quality of ignorance Sn 729; paramāya gatiyā samannāgato of perfect behaviour M i.82; see also defn at Vism 237. <-> 4. one of the five realms of existence of sentient beings (=loka), divided into the two categories of sugati (=Sagga, realm of bliss) & duggati (=Yamaloka, apāya, realm of misery). These gatis are given in the foll. order: (1) niraya purgatory, (2) tiracchānayoni the brute oreation, (3) pittivisaya the ghost world, (4) manussā (m -- loka) human beings, (5) devā gods: M i.73; D iii.234; A iv.459; Nd2 550; cp. S v.474 -- 77; Vism 552. They are described in detail in the Pañcagatidīpana (ed. L. Feer, J.P.T.S. 1884, 152 sq.; trsl. by the same in Annales du Musée Guimet v. 514 -- 528) under Naraka -- kaṇḍa, Tiracchāna˚, Peta˚, Manussa˚, Deva˚. Of these Nos. 1 -- 3 are considered duggatis, whilst Nos. 4 and 5 are sugati. In later sources we find 6 divisions, viz. 1 -- 3 as above, (4) asurā, (5) manussā, (6) devā, of which 1 -- 4 are comprised under apāyā (conditions of suffering, q. v.) or duggatiyo (see Pv iv.11, cp. PvA 103). These six also at D iii.264. -- lokassa gatiŋ pajānāti Bhagavā Sn 377 (gati=nirayādipañcappabhedaŋ SnA 368). The first two gatis are said to be the fate of the micchādiṭṭhino D i.228, dve niṭṭhā DA i.249 (q. v. for var. appl. of gati) as well as the dussīlā (A i.60), whilst the last two are the share of the sīlavanto (A. i.60).
   -- gata gone its course (of a legal enquiry, vinicchaya) Vin ii.85 (cp. Vin Texts iii.26); J ii.1.
  agati 1. no course, no access, in agati tava tattha: there you have no access S i.115. -- 2.=duggati, a wrong course. agatigamana a wrong course of life D iii.133; A i.72; ii.18 sq.; iii.274 sq.; J v.510; PvA 161. Technically the four agati -- gamanāni are: chanda˚ dosa˚ moha˚ bhaya˚ D iii.228 (see also under chanda).
  sugati (sometimes suggati after duggati e. g. J vi.224) a happy existence; a realm of bliss; the devaloka. Cp. sugatin. Usually with gacchati (sugatiŋ) & gata "gone to Heaven" Vin ii.195; D ii.202; It 77; PvA 65. In combn w. sagga loka (sugatiŋ, etc. uppajjati) D i.143; A i.97; J i.152. parammaraṇā sugati pāṭikankhā It 24; suggatiŋ gata Dh 18; sugati pāpehi kammehi sulabhā na hoti "bliss is not gained by evil" PvA 87; =sugga & dibbaṭṭhāna PvA 89; sugati -- parāyana sure of rebirth in a realm of bliss, ib.
  duggati a miserable existence; a realm of misery (see above gati 4). Usually with gacchati (duggatiŋ gata, reborn in a miserable state) or uppajjati D i.82; A i.97, 138 (+vinipātaŋ nirayaŋ); ii.123; iii.3; iv.364; Dh 17; Sn 141; SnA 192 (=dukkhappatti); PvA 87. Sakakammāni nayanti duggatiŋ, one's own deeds lead to rebirth in misery, Dh 240; with ref. to a Peta existence: Pv i.62; ii.16; 113; 317. Cp. duggata.

Pali-English Dictionary, TW Rhys Davids, William Stede,

gati: f. 去處

巴漢辭典 編者：(斗六) 廖文燦

gati: Plane of existence. The Sarvāstivāda speaks of five: manuṣya, deva, tiryañc, naraka, preta. Some schools, like the Vātsīputrīya, add asura as the sixth.

Sarvastivada Abhidharma, Sanskrit-English Glossary, by Bhikkhu KL Dhammajoti

gáti f. going, moving, gait, deportment, motion in general RV. v, 64, 3 VS. TS. &c
• manner or power of going
• going away Yājñ. iii, 170
• procession, march, passage, procedure, progress, movement (e.g. astra-g○, the going or flying of missile weapons R. v
• parāṃ gatiṃ-√gam, 'to go the last way', to die
• daiva-g○, the course of fate R. vi Megh. 93
• kāvyasya g○, the progress or course of a poem R. i, 3, 2)
• arriving at, obtaining (with gen., loc., or ifc.) ŚBr. ix MBh. &c
• acting accordingly, obeisance towards (loc.) Āp. i, 13 f
• path, way, course (e.g. anyatarāṃ gatiṃ-√gam, 'to go either way', to recover or die ĀśvŚr.) R. Bhag. &c
• a certain division of the moon's path and the position of the planet in it (the diurnal motion of a planet in its orbit?) VarBṛS.
• issue Bhag. iv, 29
• running wound or sore Suśr.
• place of issue, origin, reason ChUp. i, 8, 4 f. Mn. i, 110 R. Mudr.
• possibility, expedient, means Yājñ. i, 345 R. i Mālav. &c
• a means of success
• way or art, method of acting, stratagem R. iii, vi
• refuge, resource Mn. viii, 84 R. Kathās. Vet. iv, 20
• cf. RTL. p. 260
• the position (of a child at birth) Suśr.
• state, condition, situation, proportion, mode of existence KaṭhUp. iii, 11 Bhag. Pañcat. &c
• a happy issue
• happiness MBh. iii, 17398
• the course of the soul through numerous forms of life, metempsychosis, condition of a person undergoing this migration Mn. Yājñ. MBh. &c
• manner ĀśvGṛ. i Sch.
• the being understood or meant Pat.
• (in gram.) a term for prepositions and some other adverbial prefixes (such as alam &c.) when immediately connected with the tenses of a verb or with verbal derivatives (cf. karmapravacanīya) Pāṇ. 1-4, 60 ff. ; vi, 2, 49 ff. and 139 ; viii, 1, 70 f
• a kind of rhetorical figure Sarasv. ii, 2
• a particular high number Buddh.
• 'Motion' (personified as a daughter of Kardama and wife of Pulaha) BhP. i, v, 1
• m. N. of a son of Anala Hariv. i, 3, 43

Sanskrit-English Dictionary, by M. Monier William

rten

[tenses]

• brten/
• rten/
• brtend/
• rtend/

[translation-san] {LCH,C,MSA} āśraya

[translation-san] {C,MSA} niśrita

[translation-san] {L} niśritya

[translation-san] {MSA} niśraya

[translation-san] {MSA} saṃniśraya

[translation-san] {C} vy-apa-āśrayate

[translation-san] {MSA} adhiṣṭhāna

[translation-san] {MSA} pratiṣṭhā

[translation-san] {MSA,N} ādhāra

[translation-san] {C} ādheyatā

[translation-san] {C} pratisarati

[translation-san] {MSA} pratisaraṇa

[translation-san] {C} trāṇa

[translation-san] {C} gati

[translation-san] {MV} dhṛti

[translation-eng] {Hopkins} verb: support; depend; rely noun: basis; support; base

[translation-eng] {C} supported; in dependence on; leans on; based upon; inhabiting; dwell on in the mind; puts his trust in; flees back to; returns to; runs back to; shelter; protection; going; route; destiny; resort; where it has gone to; means of salvation; departure; situation; place of rebirth; goal; depend on; contain; hold; what is founded; receptacle; physical/bodily basis; body; foundation; by resorting to (as a foundation)

[comments] Comment: one of the similar associations (?) (mtshungs ldan lnga); for others see: mtshungs ldan

Jeffrey Hopkins' Tibetan-Sanskrit-English Dictionary

rtogs

[tenses]

• rtogs
• rtogs
• rtogs
• rtogs

[translation-san] {L} anubudhyate

[translation-san] {C} budhyati

[translation-san] {C} budhyate

[translation-san] {MV} anubhud-

[translation-san] {MSA} adhigama

[translation-san] {MSA} bodha

[translation-san] {MSA} bodhana

[translation-san] {MSA} gati

[translation-san] {MV} avagam

[translation-san] {MV} (prati √vyadh): pratividhyati

[translation-san] {MV} (√vid): viditvā

[translation-san] {C} vindati

[translation-san] adigam

[translation-eng] {Hopkins} realize; cognize; understand

[translation-eng] {C} recognizes; wakes up to; find; entrance; discovers

Jeffrey Hopkins' Tibetan-Sanskrit-English Dictionary

rnam pa

[translation-san] {LCh,MV,MSA} ākāra

[translation-san] {C,MV} prakāra

[translation-san] {C} ākāratā

[translation-san] {C} ākṛti

[translation-san] bheda (=dharma-bheda)

[translation-san] {MSA} gati

[translation-san] {MSA} vidhi

[translation-san] {MV} kāraṇa (?)

[translation-eng] {Hopkins} kind; type; aspect; form

[translation-eng] {C} specific constitution; variety; way; way; various; distinction; difference; dissention; break(ing up); differentiation; divided; division; the one ... the others

[comments] one of the mtshungs ldan lnga; for others see: mtshungs ldan

Jeffrey Hopkins' Tibetan-Sanskrit-English Dictionary