spirit

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈspɪr.ɪt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English spirit,^[2] borrowed from Anglo-Norman spirit, Old French espirit,^[3][4] and directly from Latin spīritus (“breathing, breath; life, soul, courage”),^[3][4][5] from spīrāre (“to breathe”).^[3][4][6] The Latin verb was once traced to a root *(s)peis- “to blow”,^[3] and Barnhart and Merriam-Webster compare Old Church Slavonic piskati “to play a pipe”;^[4][2] de Vaan, quoted by Etymonline, thinks it may imitate the sound of breathing, with no direct cognates.^[3] The verb is from the noun.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The animating or vital principle, the breath of life: about 1250, in the Middle English Genesis and Exodus,^[4][7] and the mid-13th century in Etymonline.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Latin spiritus was the word Christian writers used to translate the Greek and Hebrew words for the spirit of God.^[4] In English the senses “divine substance, God; the Holy Ghost”, “the soul as the seat of morality” and “inspiration” are from the late 14th century,^[3] and a supernatural incorporeal being, such as an angel or demon, from the mid-14th century.^[3][4] The disembodied soul of a dead person, a ghost, is from 1375.^[7] The activating principle of an emotion or attitude, as in “the spirit of independence”, is from before 1382, in Wycliffe.^[4] Liveliness and courage are from 1588.^[4] Alchemists used spirit of four substances and then of liquid essences,^[5] which led to “a solution of a volatile substance” in Ben Jonson's The Alchemist (1610) and strong alcoholic liquor in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress (1678–84).^[4][6] The verb meant “to make more lively” in Shakespeare's Henry V (1599),^[4][7] “to animate, encourage” from 1608,^[4][7] and “to carry off secretly”, as if by supernatural means, from 1666,^[4] used especially of kidnapping people for the American colonies.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1250 – the breath of life.^[4][7]
• mid-14th century – a supernatural being.^[3]
• 1375 – the soul of a dead person.^[7]
• before 1382 – the essential principle of something.^[4]
• 1588 – liveliness, courage.^[4]
• 1599 – verb, to make lively.^[4][7]
• 1610 – an alcoholic solution.^[4]
• 1666 – verb, to carry off secretly.^[4]
• 1678 – strong liquor.^[4]
• 1852 – spirit-rapping.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The vital principle or animating force within living beings; the soul.
2. A supernatural being, such as a ghost, an angel or a demon.
3. Spirit: the Holy Spirit.
4. Mood or disposition: in high spirits.
5. Liveliness, energy or courage.
6. The real meaning or intent of something, as opposed to its letter: the spirit of the law.
7. Strong distilled alcoholic drink; an alcoholic solution of a volatile substance.

Verb

1. To carry off secretly or mysteriously.
2. To fill with courage or animation.

Word family

• spiritlike
• nonspirit
• spiritism
• dispirit
• spirited
• spiritless
• spiritous
• spiritual

Related words

• inspire
• conspire
• expire
• respire
• esprit
• sprite

Usage notes

In Devon dialect spirit was a term of contempt or abuse.^[8]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)