āśrava

(Sanskrit, outflow; Pāli, āsava). A group of basic impurities or defilements which are the cause of repeated rebirth. There is an original list of three in Pāli sources, namely sense-desires (kāmāsava), the desire for continued existence (bhavāsava), and wrong views (diṭṭhāsava). These are sometime supplemented by a fourth, namely ignorance of the truth (avijjāsava). The āśravas summarize the cognitive and affective impediments to the state of full perfection, and their destruction (āsavakkhaya) is equated with the attainment of Arhatship (see Arhat). In Pāli sources the four āsavas are also referred to by the alternative designation of ‘floods’ (ogha).

A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 2003, 2004 (which is available in electronic version from answer.com)

āsrava[āsava] cankers, outflows and influxes. The three āsrava-s are sensuous desire (kāmāsrava), existence (bhavāsrava), and ignorance (avidyāsrava). The outflow of wrong views (dṛṣṭi-āsrava) is added to the list. These four āsrava-s are mentioned as floods (ogha) and yokes (yoga). In the Buddhist context, here yoga refers to that which binds a human being to saṃsāra as against the Hindu connotation of uniting with the Ultimate Reality. The outflow of wrong views is extinguished when one enters the path or stream. When one enters the path of non-return, the outflow of sensuous desire is extinguished. When one enters the path of an Arhat and attains the state of an Arhat the outflow of existence and ignorance are extinguished. The epithet kṣīṇāsrava, namely, one whose outflows are uprooted is used for an Arhat.

Buddhānusmṛti - A Glossary of Buddhist Terms

AS. III. 498-501. CMA. VIII. 265. DN. Mahāparinibbāna, Sāmaññaphala, Saṅgīti, Soṇadaṇḍa. MN. Bhayabherava, Dvedhāvitakka, Mahāsaccka, Sabbāsava, Sallekha, Sammādiṭṭhi. SN. Āsava, Āsavapañhā, Bhikkhu, Saṃyojanappahānādi, Virāga.

āsrava: Outflow, a synonym of kleśa.

Sarvastivada Abhidharma, Sanskrit-English Glossary, by Bhikkhu KL Dhammajoti