ajivika

noun

aji·​vi·​ka

ä-ˈjē-və-kə

plural -s

: a member of a nontheistic religious sect greatly resembling Jainism that was founded by the Indian teacher Maskarin Gosala, a contemporary of the Buddha and Mahavira, and that flourished from the 6th to the 3d centuries b.c. as a rival of Buddhism and Jainism

Word History

Etymology

Sanskrit ājīvika, literally, following special rules with regard to livelihood, from ājīva livelihood, from ājīvati he lives on, from ā toward + jīvati he lives, from jīva living

First Known Use

1888, in the meaning defined above

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