spirit

Meanings

Noun

  • The soul of a person or other creature. What moves through experience into self-definition as souls purpose.
  • A supernatural being, often but not exclusively without physical form; ghost, fairy, angel.
  • Enthusiasm.
  • The manner or style of something.
  • A volatile liquid, such as alcohol. The plural form spirits is a generic term for distilled alcoholic beverages.
  • Energy; ardour.
  • One who is vivacious or lively; one who evinces great activity or peculiar characteristics of mind or temper.
  • Temper or disposition of mind; mental condition or disposition; intellectual or moral state.
  • Air set in motion by breathing; breath; hence, sometimes, life itself.
  • A rough breathing; an aspirate, such as the letter h; also, a mark denoting aspiration.
  • Intent; real meaning; opposed to the letter, or formal statement.
  • Any of the four substances: sulphur, sal ammoniac, quicksilver, and arsenic (or, according to some, orpiment).
  • Stannic chloride.

Verb

Origin

  • From Middle English spirit, from Old French espirit ("spirit"), from Latin spīritus ("breath; spirit"), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- ("to blow, breathe"). Compare inspire, respire, transpire, all ultimately from Latin spīrō. Displaced native Middle English gast ("spirit") (from Old English gāst ("spirit, ghost")), whence modern English ghost. sprite.

Modern English dictionary

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