spirit
/ˈspɪɹɪt/ noun, verb
Forms spirits spiriting spirited spir't
- noun The soul of a person or other creature.
- noun A supernatural being, often but not exclusively without physical form; ghost, fairy, angel. “A wandering spirit haunts the island.”
- noun Enthusiasm. “School spirit is at an all-time high.”
- noun Energy; ardour.
- noun The manner or style of something. “In the spirit of forgiveness, we didn't press charges.”
- noun Intent; real meaning; opposed to the letter, or formal statement. “the spirit of an enterprise, or of a document”
- noun (usually in the plural) A volatile liquid, such as alcohol. The plural form spirits is a generic term for distilled alcoholic beverages.
- noun One who is vivacious or lively; one who evinces great activity or peculiar characteristics of mind or temper. “a ruling spirit; a schismatic spirit”
- verb To carry off, especially in haste, secrecy, or mystery.
- verb Sometimes followed by up: to animate with vigour; to excite; to encourage; to inspirit. “Civil dissensions often spirit the ambition of private men.”
Synonyms
liqueur liquor apparition specter vision tone feel feeling flavor flavour look smell disembodied spirit emotional state intent purport liveliness life sprightliness heart spirit up inspirit
Etymology
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 (“to breathe, blow, respire”). In this sense, displaced native Middle English gast (from Old English gāst), whence modern English ghost. Doublet of spiritus, spirytus, sprite, spright, and esprit.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Air set in motion by breathing; breath; hence, sometimes, life itself. [Obs.] "All of spirit would deprive." Spenser.
- noun A rough breathing; an aspirate, as the letter h; also, a mark to denote aspiration; a breathing. [Obs.]
- verb To animate with vigor; to excite; to encourage; to inspirit; as, civil dissensions often spirit the ambition of private men; --sometimes followed by up. Many officers and private men spirit up and assist those obstinate people to continue in their rebellion. Swift .
- verb To convey rapidly and secretly, or mysteriously, as if by the agency of a spirit; to kidnap; --often with away, or off. The ministry had him spirited away, and carried abroad as a dangerous person. Arbuthnot & Pope.
Etymology [OF. espirit, esperit, F. esprit, L. spiritus, from spirare to breathe, to blow. Cf. Conspire, Expire, Esprit, Sprite.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “spirit”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details