ahimsa

[ uh-him-sah, uh-hing- ]

/ əˈhɪm sɑ, əˈhɪŋ- /

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noun Hinduism.

the principle of noninjury to living beings.

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Origin of ahimsa

First recorded in 1830–35; from Sanskrit ahiṁsā “noninjury,” equivalent to a- privative suffix (cognate with Greek a- ) + hiṁsā injury, derivative of hánti “(he) slays,” Greek phónos “murder”; see origin at a-⁶

Words nearby ahimsa

ahi, Ahidjo, Ahiezer, Ahimaaz, Ahimelech, ahimsa, Ahir, Ahira, Ahishar, ahistorical, Ahithophel

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use ahimsa in a sentence

Ahimsa requires deliberate self-suffering, not a deliberate injuring of the supposed wrong-doer.
Third class in Indian railways|Mahatma Gandhi
In its positive form, Ahimsa means the largest love, the greatest charity.
Third class in Indian railways|Mahatma Gandhi
Ahimsa truly understood is in my humble opinion a panacea for all evils mundane and extra-mundane.
Third class in Indian railways|Mahatma Gandhi
But Mr. Gandhi, with all his visionary idealism, was letting loose dangerous forces which recked naught of Ahimsa.
India, Old and New|Sir Valentine Chirol

He hated no one, for that would be a negation of the great principle of Ahimsa, on which he expatiated with immense earnestness.
India, Old and New|Sir Valentine Chirol

British Dictionary definitions for ahimsa

ahimsa

/ (ɑːˈhɪmsɑː) /

noun

(in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jainist philosophy) the law of reverence for, and nonviolence to, every form of life

Word Origin for ahimsa

Sanskrit, from a- 1 + himsā injury

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012