spirit

spirit
\ \ [13] Latin spīritus originally meant ‘breath’: it was derived from the verb spīrārebreathe’ (source of English aspire [15], conspire [14], expire [15], inspire [14], perspire [17], respire [14], transpire [16], etc), which probably came ultimately from the prehistoric Indo-European base *speis- or *peis-, imitative of the sound of blowing or breathing out (source also of Old Church Slavonic piskatiwhistle’, Serbo-Croat pistatihiss’, and Old Norse físafart’). But in the Augustan period it gradually began to take over as the word for ‘soul’ from anima (source of English animal, animate, etc), which itself originally denoted ‘breath’, and in Christian Latin writings it was the standard term used.
\ \ Cf.ASPIRE, CONSPIRE, EXPIRE, INSPIRE, PERSPIRE, RESPIRE, TRANSPIRE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Spirit — Spir it, n. [OF. espirit, esperit, F. esprit, L. spiritus, from spirare to breathe, to blow. Cf. {Conspire}, {Expire}, {Esprit}, {Sprite}.] 1. Air set in motion by breathing; breath; hence, sometimes, life itself. [Obs.] All of spirit would… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • spirit — SPÍRIT, spirite, s.n. I. 1. Factor ideal al existenţei (opus materiei); conştiinţă, gândire; p. ext. minte, raţiune, intelect. ♦ Inteligenţă, deşteptăciune, isteţime; capacitate de imaginaţie, fantezie. ♢ expr. (Om) de (sau cu) spirit = (om) cu… …   Dicționar Român

  • Spirit — (engl.: Geist) ist: Spirit (Band), eine amerikanische Band Spirit (CAD), eine CAD Software für Windows Spirit Racing, ein ehemaliges Formel 1 Team Spirit (Parser), ein rekursiv absteigender objekt orientierter Parsergenerator Spirit (Raumsonde),… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Spirit of '76 — can refer to a variety of things, including:*Spirit of 76 (history), a patriotic phrase related to the United States declaration of liberty from the United Kingdom in 1776 *A famous painting by Archibald MacNeal Willard commemorating U.S.… …   Wikipedia

  • Spirit — • Used in several different but allied senses: (1) as signifying a living, intelligent, incorporeal being, such as the soul; (2) as the fiery essence or breath (the Stoic pneuma) which was supposed to be the universal vital force; (3) as… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Spirit MC — Spirit Martial Challenge (Spirit MC) is a South Korean mixed martial arts promotion operated by Entlian Corporation.The promotion is separated into Spirit MC (Professional League), Spirit MC Inter League, Spirit MC Amateur League. Amateur League… …   Wikipedia

  • spirit — [spir′it] n. [ME < OFr espirit < L spiritus, breath, courage, vigor, the soul, life, in LL(Ec), spirit < spirare, to blow, breathe < IE base * (s)peis , to blow > (prob.) Norw fisa, to puff, blow, OSlav piskati, to pipe, whistle] 1 …   English World dictionary

  • spirit — ► NOUN 1) a person s non physical being, composed of their character and emotions. 2) this regarded as surviving after the death of the body, often manifested as a ghost. 3) a supernatural being. 4) the prevailing or typical character, quality,… …   English terms dictionary

  • Spirit — Spir it, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Spirited}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Spiriting}.] 1. To animate with vigor; to excite; to encourage; to inspirit; as, civil dissensions often spirit the ambition of private men; sometimes followed by up. [1913 Webster] Many… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • špirit — špìrit m DEFINICIJA kem. alkohol koji se dobiva procesom alkoholnog vrenja od voćnih sokova, melase škroba i celuloze, a i sintetičkim putem; žesta SINTAGMA denaturirani špirit špirit kojem su dodane tvari da se ne može piti (nego upotrebljavati… …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • spirit — [n1] soul, attitude air, animation, ardor, backbone*, boldness, breath, character, complexion, courage, dauntlessness, disposition, earnestness, energy, enterprise, enthusiasm, essence, fire, force, frame of mind, gameness, grit*, guts*, heart,… …   New thesaurus

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”