ánimo

Forms

ánimo m (plural ánimos)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin animus (“mind, spirit”), a learned word.^[2][3][1] The Latin noun is related to anima (“breath, soul”), which gave the popular alma “soul”.^[3][4][1] Vox dates the borrowing to the 14th century.^[5]

De Vaan traces the Latin word to Proto-Italic *anamo- (“breath, spirit”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁-mo- (“breath”), with cognates in Oscan anams (“courage, energy; breath”), Old Irish anim (“soul”) and Ancient Greek ἄνεμος (ánemos, “wind”).^[6] Wiktionary agrees, from a root meaning “to breathe”.^[1] The DRAE of 2001, Moliner and Alonso instead derive the Latin word from the Greek one.^[7][8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

A Burgos charter of 1207, in a mixed Latin and Romance language, says that a man pledges his property de bono ánjmo [&] de propria uoluntade “with good intent and of his own will”.^[10] The first record in DEMel is the plural animos in the second part of Alfonso X's General Estoria, about 1275.^[11]

Semantic evolution

Old Spanish already used the word for courage: about 1295 the Gran conquista de Ultramar praises a knight como aquel que era de gran ánimo & de muy gran esfuerço “as one of great spirit and very great strength”.^[10] The sense “soul, as opposed to the body” is recorded before 1340 in the Vida de San Ildefonso, and “intention” in con ánimo de “with the intention of” in 1424.^[10] The interjection ¡ánimo! “courage!” appears in Cervantes's Numancia (about 1581), and Lope de Vega and the Quijote have it too.^[10] The Diccionario de Autoridades defined the soul that makes animals think and move, and courage, with phrases such as poner ánimo “to give courage”.^[12] The Academy's 1869 edition listed the interjections ¡ánimo! and ¡buen ánimo! and set phrases such as caer de ánimo “to lose heart” and cobrar ánimo “to take heart”.^[13] In the 19th and 20th centuries the word also meant appetite or desire, as in comer con buen ánimo “to eat heartily” in Pardo Bazán.^[10]

Timeline

• 1207 – a Burgos charter in mixed Latin and Romance has de bono ánjmo “with good intent”.^[10]
• c. 1275 – the plural animos in Alfonso X's General Estoria, part II.^[11]
• c. 1295 – the Gran conquista de Ultramar uses gran ánimo for courage.^[10]
• 1303–1309 – the first record in the CORDE.^[14]
• 1328–1335 – the DCECH's first record.^[3][2]
• 1424 – Villena has con ánimo de “with the intention of”.^[10]
• c. 1581 – the interjection in Cervantes's Numancia: ¡Ánimo, que ya llegas a lo alto!^[10]
• 1726 – the Diccionario de Autoridades defines “soul, spirit” and “courage”.^[12]
• 1869 – the Academy lists the interjections ¡ánimo! and ¡buen ánimo!.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. The soul or spirit as the source of human activity; mood, state of mind: Su estado de ánimo mejoró con la noticia.^[7][8][1]
2. courage, energy, drive, often in the plural: Le faltan ánimos para empezar de nuevo.^[7][8][1]
3. Intention, will: Lo dijo sin ánimo de molestar.^[7][8]
4. Attention or thought.^[7]

Interjection

1. Used to encourage someone: cheer up!, come on!: ¡Ánimo, que falta poco!^[7][1][5]

Word family

• animoso
• desánimo

Related words

• alma
• animación
• animal
• animar
• Latin animus

Usage notes

Set phrases include estado de ánimo “state of mind”, presencia de ánimo “presence of mind” and sin ánimo de lucro “non-profit”.^[1][5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. alma
3. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 179
4. ^ Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. ánimo
5. ^ a b c Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. ánimo
6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ a b c d e f Real Academia Española (2001), Diccionario de la lengua española, 22nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, p. s.v. ánimo
8. ^ a b c d Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. ánimo
9. ^ Alonso Pedraz, Martín (1986), Diccionario medieval español: desde las Glosas Emilianenses y Silenses (s. X) hasta el siglo XV, 2 vols., Salamanca: Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, p. 312
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i Real Academia Española (2021–), Tesoro de los diccionarios históricos de la lengua española (TDHLE): Diccionario histórico (1933–1936), its unpublished slips, Diccionario histórico (1960–1996), DHECan, DHECR, DHEVen, https://www.rae.es/tdhle, p. s.v. ánimo
11. ^ a b Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock
12. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 1, 299
13. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1869), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 11th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de Don Manuel Rivadeneyra, p. 52
14. ^ Lleal, Coloma (dir.), DICCA-XV: Diccionario del castellano del siglo XV en la Corona de Aragón, Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, Grup d'Estudis d'Història de la Llengua (GHCL), https://ghcl.ub.edu/diccaxv