ahimsa

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

noun Hinduism.

the principle of noninjury to living beings.

Origin of ahimsa

1870–75; < Sanskrit, equivalent to a- not, without (cognate with a-⁶) + hiṁsā injury, akin to hánti (he) slays, Greek phónos murder

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ahimsa

Historical Examples of ahimsa

A man cannot then practice Ahimsa and be a coward at the same time.
Third class in Indian railways
Mahatma Gandhi
By birth I am a Vaishnavite, and was taught Ahimsa in my childhood.
Third class in Indian railways
Mahatma Gandhi
It is not written that a follower of the religion of Ahimsa (non-killing) may kill a fellow-man.
Indian Home Rule
M. K. Gandhi
The Wardha mosquitoes don't know a thing about ahimsa, 44-6 Swamiji!
Autobiography of a YOGI
Paramhansa Yogananda
It is firmly based on the Hindu idea of ahimsa, and hence avoids physical violence.
Introduction to Non-Violence
Theodore Paullin

British Dictionary definitions for ahimsa

ahimsa

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

Word Origin and History for ahimsa

1875, from Sanskrit ahimsa, from a "without" + himsa "injury."