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sammāājīvaṁ

sammāājīva

accusative singular masculine of sammāājīva (a noun formed from sammā + ājīva)

1. right livelihood
2. honest means of support
3. virtuous way of earning

Built from

• sammā — prefix · rightly, well
  Derived from su- (well), strengthened with -m-. The concrete sense of 'good' or 'fitting' extends to moral rectitude.
• ā — prefix · toward, up to
  Reverses and directs the root meaning inward; here 'toward life' or 'to live.'
• jīv — root · live
  The root √jīv means to be alive, to survive. Cognate with Latin vivus and English 'quick' (living).
• a — ending · nominative masculine singular
  The -a ending marks the masculine singular in the nominative; sammāājīvaṁ is the accusative, with -ṁ replacing -a.

Analysis. sammā (rightly, well) + ājīva (livelihood, mode of living). Part of the Eightfold Path in Buddhist doctrine: sammāājīva is the fifth factor, prescribing occupations free from harm to living beings and deceit.

Etymology. sammā is the adverb from su- (well, good) + -mā (ablative/instrumental ending serving as adverbializer); cognate with Sanskrit samyak (rightly), Greek eu- (well). ājīva from ā- (toward the speaker) + √jīv (to live):

Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.

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