spirit

Meaning

Noun

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

Verb

1. To carry off, especially in haste, secrecy, or mystery.
2. Sometimes followed by up: to animate with vigour; to excite; to encourage; to inspirit.

Hyphenated as

spir‧it

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈspɪɹɪt/

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 (“I 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.