As a deity name
Name 724 of the Ganesha Sahasranāma — Ganesha Purana (Upasana Khanda), as taught by Sage Vyasa / Lord Ganesha
Name 883 of the Narasimha Sahasranāma — Brahmanda Purana / Narasimha Purana, as taught by Sages to Assembly of Devotees
Name 787 of the Surya Sahasranāma — Bhavishya Purana, as taught by Lord Brahma / Sages
Name 513 of the Vishnu Sahasranāma — Mahabharata (Anushasana Parva), as taught by Bhishma to Yudhishthira on his deathbed
As a Hindi name
जीव · noun · masculine
प्राणियों का चेतन तत्व । जीवात्मा । आत्मा · प्राण । जीवन तत्व । जान । जैसे,—इस हिरन में अब जीव नहीं है · प्राणी । जीवधारी । इंद्रियविशिष्ट । शरीरी । जानदार । जैसे, पशु, पक्षी, कीट, पतंग आदि । जैसे,— किसी जीव को सताना अच्छा नहीं — Śabdasāgara
जीव · jīv · s.m.
Life, existence; soul; living creature, animate being, animal; the sentient individual soul (or emanation of the Deity, which, it is believed, is incorporated in the animal body, imparting to it life, motion, and sensation, and hence called jīvātman, in contradistinction to paramātman or supreme soul) — Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago, p. 414
जीव · masculine
life; the soul; lifeforce; living creature
a Hindi word, a tatsama: the Sanskrit word borrowed unchanged into Hindi जीव — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
“Learned borrowing from Sanskrit जीव (jīva). Doublet of जीउ (jīu) and जी (jī).” — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
jīva mf(ā)n. living, existing, alive, RV. &c.
healthy (blood), Car. viii, 6, 74
As a Sanskrit word
Meaning
the principle of life, vital breath, the living or personal soul (as distinguished from the universal soul See jīvātman), &c.
Scripturally attested Verified derivationMultiple readings (9)Why this matches what you typed
M1 · same meaning "jīva" is the vocative of "jīvā" — the same word in a different grammatical case.
Dictionary citations
jīva mf(ā)n. living, existing, alive, RV. &c.
healthy (blood), Car. viii, 6, 74
ifc. living by (see jala-cara-, rūpa-)
causing to live, vivifying (see putra-, -jala)
jīva m. n. any living being, anything living, RV. &c.
jīvā (ā), f. life, L.
the earth, L.
Alternative readings
More than one analysis survives full verification. That ambiguity is real, so we show every reading rather than pick one silently.
Caveats
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