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
- The vital principle or animating force within living beings; the soul.
- A supernatural being, such as a ghost, an angel or a demon.
- Spirit: the Holy Spirit.
- Mood or disposition: in high spirits.
- Liveliness, energy or courage.
- The real meaning or intent of something, as opposed to its letter: the spirit of the law.
- Strong distilled alcoholic drink; an alcoholic solution of a volatile substance.
Verb
- To carry off secretly or mysteriously.
- 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
- ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ 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
- ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ 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
- ^ 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)