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