soul English · revision 2872

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725, Beowulf|origins=gem-pro *saiwalō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /səʊl/, US /soʊl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|soule]], [[inh|ang|sāwol|t=spiritual and emotional part of a person; life, living being]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*saiwalō]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) the source also of Old Saxon sēola, Dutch ziel, Old High German sēla (German Seele), Old Norse sála and Gothic saiwala.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Its origin is uncertain, and no cognates are found outside Germanic.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Following Kluge, Barnhart and Etymonline report that it may have meant “coming from or belonging to the sea”, the supposed resting place of the soul before birth and after death, from the source of [[sea]];^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Klein explains it as “from the lake”.^(Etymonline) Hoad compares Greek aiólos “quick-moving”.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The spiritual and emotional part of a person, animate existence: about 725, in ''Beowulf''.^(Barnhart 1988) The OED's earliest example, the principle of life, is from about 825.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The disembodied spirit of a dead person is from 971 in Old English,^(Barnhart 1988) and a person, individual, as in ''every living soul'', from about 1000 in Barnhart^(Barnhart 1988) and the early 14th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The vital principle of something is from the 14th century, and the essential part from the 16th.^(Hoad 1986) ''Soul food'' meant spiritual sustenance about 1200.^(Etymonline) In 1946 ''soul'' was jazz slang for an instinctive quality felt by Black Americans as their own;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) it gave ''soul brother'' and ''soul food'' (1957), ''soul sister'' (1967)^(Etymonline) and ''soul music'' by 1961.^(Etymonline) ''Soul-searching'' is from 1871.^(Etymonline) Etymonline remarks that distinguishing the soul from the spirit is best left to theologians.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – the soul.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 971 – a spirit of the dead.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1000 – a person.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 16th century – the essential part.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1871 – ''soul-searching''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1946 – Black American culture.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1961 – ''soul music''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[spiritual]] part of a person, thought of as [[immortal]] and separate from the body.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The source of thought, feeling and action in a person.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A person: ''not a soul was there''.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # Deep feeling or emotional force, as in art.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The essential part of something.^(AHD)^(Hoad 1986)

+ # The culture and sense of identity of Black Americans; [[soul music]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of or typical of Black American culture: ''soul food''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[soullike]]

+ * [[insoul]]

+ * [[oversoul]]

+ * [[soca]]

+ * [[soulless]]

+ * [[ensoul]]

+ * [[souled]]

+ * [[soulful]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mind]]

+ * [[spirit]]

+ * [[sea]]

+ * [[soul mate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}