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

Time Traveler

The first known use of ajivika was in 1888

See more words from the same year