kulaputra

Sanskrit term meaning ‘a nobly born son’ or ‘member of a clan’, a term used frequently in Mahāyāna sūtras to denote lay male devotees, often with the added implication that they are Bodhisattvas. The Pāli equivalent, ‘kulaputta’, is equally common in Pāli sūtras.

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