The English word spirit (from Latin Latin or sometimes Roman is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Although often considered a dead language, in view of the fact that it has no native, fluent speakers, Latin continues to be taught in schools and has been, and currently is, used in the process of new word production in modern languages from many spiritus "breath Breathing is the process that takes oxygen in and carbon dioxide in and then out of the lungs. Aerobic organisms require oxygen to release energy via respiration, in the form of the metabolism of energy-rich molecules such as glucose. The medical term for normal relaxed breathing is eupnea") has many differing meanings and connotations, all of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body In philosophy of mind, dualism is a set of views about the relationship between mind and matter, which begins with the claim that mental phenomena are, in some respects, non-physical. The spirit of a human being is thus the animating, sensitive or vital principle in that individual, similar to the soul A soul is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach humans are souls; some attribute souls to all living things and even inanimate objects ; this belief is commonly called animism. The soul is often believed to exit the body and live on after a person’s death, and some religions posit taken to be the seat of the mental, intellectual and emotional powers. The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap, as both contrast with body With regard to living things, a body is the physical body of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death. The study of the workings of the body is physiology and both are imagined as surviving the bodily death in religion and occultism,^[1] and "spirit" can also have the sense of "ghost In folklore, fiction, philosophy, and popular culture, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person, taken to be capable of appearing in visible form or otherwise manifesting itself to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely: the mode of manifestation can range from an invisible presence to translucent or wispy", i.e. manifestations of the spirit of a deceased person.

The term may also refer to any being imagined as incorporeal or immaterial, such as demons In religion and mythology, occultism and folklore, a demon is a supernatural being that is generally described as a malevolent spirit; however, the original neutral connotation of the Greek word daimon does not carry the negative one that was later projected onto it, as Christianity spread or deities A deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers, often religiously referred to as a god, in Christianity specifically the Holy Spirit In Christianity, the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is the spirit or essence of God. In Trinitarian Christian belief, it is the third person of the Holy Trinity. Pneumatology is the theology of the Holy Spirit experienced by the disciples at Pentecost.

Etymology

The English word spirit comes from the Latin Latin or sometimes Roman is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Although often considered a dead language, in view of the fact that it has no native, fluent speakers, Latin continues to be taught in schools and has been, and currently is, used in the process of new word production in modern languages from many spiritus, meaning "breath Breathing is the process that takes oxygen in and carbon dioxide in and then out of the lungs. Aerobic organisms require oxygen to release energy via respiration, in the form of the metabolism of energy-rich molecules such as glucose. The medical term for normal relaxed breathing is eupnea" (compare spiritus asper The rough breathing , is a diacritical mark used in the polytonic orthography. In ancient Greek, it indicates initial aspiration, or the presence of the voiceless glottal fricative (/h/) at the beginning of a word. It was maintained in the polytonic orthography even after the /h/ sound disappeared from the Greek language during the Hellenistic), but also "soul, courage, vigor", ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European וח (ruah), as opposed to Latin anima In psychoanalysis and other forms of depth psychology, the psyche refers to the forces in an individual that influence thought, behavior and personality. The word is borrowed from ancient Greek, and refers to the concept of the self, encompassing the modern ideas of soul, self, and mind. The Greeks believed that the soul or "psyche" was and Greek psykhē In psychoanalysis and other forms of depth psychology, the psyche refers to the forces in an individual that influence thought, behavior and personality. The word is borrowed from ancient Greek, and refers to the concept of the self, encompassing the modern ideas of soul, self, and mind. The Greeks believed that the soul or "psyche" was. The word apparently came into Middle English Middle English is the name given by historical linguists to the diverse forms of the English language in use between the late 11th century and about 1470, when the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the introduction of the printing press into England by William Caxton in the late 1470s via Old French Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century. It is a direct descendent of Old Gallo-Romance. It was then known as the langue d'oïl to distinguish it from the langue d'oc (Occitan language,. The distinction between soul A soul is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach humans are souls; some attribute souls to all living things and even inanimate objects ; this belief is commonly called animism. The soul is often believed to exit the body and live on after a person’s death, and some religions posit and spirit developed in the Abrahamic religions: Thus we find Greek ψυχη opposite πνευμα ; Latin anima opposite spiritus; Arabic nafs (نفس) opposite rúħ (روح); Hebrew neshama (נְשָׁמָה nəšâmâh) or nephesh If Wiktionary has a definition already, change this tag to {{}} or else consider a soft redirect to Wiktionary by replacing the text on this page with {{}}. If Wiktionary does not have the definition yet, consider moving the whole article to Wiktionary by replacing this tag with the template {{}} (in Hebrew neshama comes from the root NŠM or "breath") opposite ruach (רוּחַ rûaħ).

Metaphysical and metaphorical uses

English-speakers use the word "spirit" in two related contexts, one metaphysical Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that is not easily defined. It is concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world. Someone who studies metaphysics would be called either a metaphysicist or a metaphysician and the other metaphorical Metaphor also denotes rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via association, comparison, or resemblance.

Metaphysical contexts

In metaphysical terms, "spirit" has acquired a number of meanings:

1. An incorporeal Incorporeal or uncarnate means without the nature of a body or substance. The idea of incorporeality refers to the notion that there is an incorporeal realm of existence, or "place", that is distinct from the corporeal or material universe. Incorporeal beings or objects are not made out of matter in the way a physical, material being or but ubiquitous, non-quantifiable substance or energy The term energy has been widely adopted by writers and practitioners of various forms of spirituality and alternative medicine to refer to a variety of ideas, often conceived as "fields" surrounding the earth or any living thing, supposed to be directly perceptible and accessible to the human mind as "auras", "rays", & present individually in all living things. Unlike the concept of souls A soul is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach humans are souls; some attribute souls to all living things and even inanimate objects ; this belief is commonly called animism. The soul is often believed to exit the body and live on after a person’s death, and some religions posit (often regarded as eternal and sometimes believed to pre-exist the body) a spirit develops and grows as an integral aspect of a living being.^{[citation needed]} This concept of the individual spirit occurs commonly in animism Animism is a philosophical, religious or spiritual idea that souls or spirits exist not only in humans but also in animals, plants, rocks, natural phenomena such as thunder, geographic features such as mountains or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment. Animism may further attribute souls to abstract concepts such as words, true. Note the distinction between this concept of spirit and that of the pre-existing or eternal soul: belief in souls occurs specifically and far less commonly, particularly in traditional societies. One might more properly term this type/aspect of spirit "life" (bios in Greek) or "aether" rather than "spirit" (pneuma in Greek).
2. A daemon The words daemon, dæmon, are Latinized spellings of the Greek δαίμων used purposely today to distinguish the daemons of Ancient Greek religion and mythology, Hellenistic religion and philosophy, good or malevolent "supernatural beings between mortals and gods, such as inferior divinities and ghosts of dead heroes" (see Plato's sprite The term sprite is a broad term referring to a number of preternatural legendary creatures. The term is generally used in reference to elf-like creatures, including fairies, and similar beings , but can also signify various spiritual beings, including ghosts. In Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl books, sprites are a race of fairies with green skin and, or especially a ghost In folklore, fiction, philosophy, and popular culture, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person, taken to be capable of appearing in visible form or otherwise manifesting itself to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely: the mode of manifestation can range from an invisible presence to translucent or wispy. People usually conceive of a ghost as a wandering spirit from a being no longer living, having survived the death of the body yet maintaining at least vestiges of mind Mind is the aspect of intellect and consciousness experienced as combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, will and imagination, including all unconscious cognitive processes. The term is often used to refer, by implication, to the thought processes of reason. Mind manifests itself subjectively as a stream of consciousness and of consciousness Consciousness is variously defined as subjective experience, or awareness, or wakefulness, or the executive control system of the mind. It is an umbrella term that may refer to a variety of mental phenomena. Although humans realize what everyday experiences are, consciousness refuses to be defined, philosophers note :.
3. In religion Religion (from O.Fr. religion "religious community," from L. religionem "respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods," "obligation, the bond between man and the gods" is the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or more in general a set of beliefs explaining the existence of and giving meaning to the universe, and spirituality Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of their being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop an individual's inner life; such practices often lead to an, the respiration In physiology, respiration is defined as the transport of oxygen from the outside air to the cells within tissues, and the transport of carbon dioxide in the opposite direction. This is in contrast to the biochemical definition of respiration, which refers to cellular respiration: the metabolic process by which an organism obtains energy by of a human has for obvious reasons become seen as strongly linked with the very occurrence of life. A similar significance has become attached to human blood Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's cells – such as nutrients and oxygen – and transports waste products away from those same cells. Spirit, in this sense, means the thing that separates a living body from a corpse—and usually implies intelligence Intelligence is an umbrella term describing a property of the mind including related abilities, such as the capacities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, learning from the experience, planning, and problem solving, consciousness Consciousness is variously defined as subjective experience, or awareness, or wakefulness, or the executive control system of the mind. It is an umbrella term that may refer to a variety of mental phenomena. Although humans realize what everyday experiences are, consciousness refuses to be defined, philosophers note :, and sentience Sentience is the ability to feel or perceive. The term is used in science and philosophy, and in the study of artificial intelligence. Sentience is used in the study of consciousness to describe the ability to have sensations or experiences, known to Western philosophers as "qualia". In eastern philosophy, sentience is a metaphysical.
4. Various animistic Animism is a philosophical, religious or spiritual idea that souls or spirits exist not only in humans but also in animals, plants, rocks, natural phenomena such as thunder, geographic features such as mountains or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment. Animism may further attribute souls to abstract concepts such as words, true religions, such as Japan's Shinto Shinto or kami-no-michi is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is best conceived of as a set of practices, carried out diligently to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written historical records of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki in and various Native American Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as intact political communities. The terminology used to and African tribal beliefs, focus on invisible beings that represent or connect with plants, animals (sometimes called "Animal Fathers Animism is a philosophical, religious or spiritual idea that souls or spirits exist not only in humans but also in other animals, plants, rocks, natural phenomena such as thunder, geographic features such as mountains or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment. Animism may further attribute souls to abstract concepts such as words,"), or landforms In the earth sciences and geology sub-fields, a landform or physical feature comprises a geomorphological unit, and is largely defined by its surface form and location in the landscape, as part of the terrain, and as such, is typically an element of topography. Landform elements also include seascape and oceanic waterbody interface features such; translators usually employ the English word "spirit" when trying to express the idea of such entities.
5. Individual spirits envisaged as interconnected with all other spirits and with "The Spirit" (singular and capitalized Capitalization is writing a word with its first letter as a majuscule (upper-case letter) and the remaining letters in minuscules (lower-case letters), in those writing systems which have a case distinction. The term is also used for the choice of case in text). This concept relates to theories of a unified spirituality Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of their being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop an individual's inner life; such practices often lead to an, to universal consciousness and to some concepts of Deity A deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers, often religiously referred to as a god. In this scenario all separate "spirits", when connected, form a greater unity, the Spirit, which has an identity separate from its elements plus a consciousness Consciousness is variously defined as subjective experience, or awareness, or wakefulness, or the executive control system of the mind. It is an umbrella term that may refer to a variety of mental phenomena. Although humans realize what everyday experiences are, consciousness refuses to be defined, philosophers note : and intellect Intelligence is an umbrella term describing a property of the mind including related abilities, such as the capacities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, learning from the experience, planning, and problem solving greater than its elements; an ultimate, unified, non-dual Dualism denotes a state of two parts. The word's origin is the Latin duo, "two". The term 'dualism' was originally coined to denote co-eternal binary opposition, a meaning that is preserved in metaphysical and philosophical duality discourse but has been diluted in general or common usages awareness or force In physics, a force is any influence that causes a free body to undergo an acceleration. Force can also be described by intuitive concepts such as a push or pull that can cause an object with mass to change its velocity , i.e., to accelerate, or which can cause a flexible object to deform. A force has both magnitude and direction, making it a of life Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes (biology) from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased (death), or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate combining or transcending all individual units of consciousness. The experience Experience as a general concept comprises knowledge of or skill in or observation of some thing or some event gained through involvement in or exposure to that thing or event. The history of the word experience aligns it closely with the concept of experiment of such a connection can become a primary basis for spiritual belief. The term spirit occurs in this sense in (to name but a few) Anthroposophy, Aurobindo, A Course In Miracles, Hegel, and Ken Wilber. In this use, the term seems conceptually identical to Plotinus's "The One" and Friedrich Schelling's "Absolute". Similarly, according to the panentheistic/pantheistic view, Spirit equates to essence that can manifest itself as mind/soul through any level in pantheistic hierarchy/holarchy, such as through a mind/soul of a single cell (with very primitive, elemental consciousness), or through a human or animal mind/soul (with consciousness on a level of organic synergy of an individual human/animal), or through a (superior) mind/soul with synergetically extremely complex/sophisticated consciousness of whole galaxies involving all sub-levels, all emanating (since the superior mind/soul operates non-dimensionally, or trans-dimensionally) from the one Spirit.
6. Christian theology can use the term "Spirit" to describe God, or aspects of God — as in the "Holy Spirit", referring to a Triune God (Trinity): "The result of God reaching to man by the Father as the source, the Son as the course ('the Way'), and through the Spirit as the transmission"^{[cite this quote]}.
7. In (popular) theological terms, the individual human "spirit" (singular, lowercase) is a deeply situated aspect of the soul^{[citation needed]} subject to "spiritual" growth and change; the very seat of emotion and desire, and the transmitting organ by which humans can contact God. In a rare theological definition it consists of higher consciousness enclosing the soul.^{[citation needed]} "Spirit" forms a central concept in pneumatology (note that pneumatology studies "pneuma" (Greek for "spirit") not "psyche" (Greek for "soul") — as studied in psychology).
8. Christian Science uses "Spirit" as one of the seven synonyms for God, as in: "Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love"^[2]
9. Harmonism reserves the term "spirit" for those that collectively control and influence an individual from the realm of the mind.

Metaphorical usage

The metaphorical use of the term likewise groups several related meanings:

1. The loyalty and feeling of inclusion in the social history or collective essence of an institution or group, such as in school spirit or esprit de corps.
2. A closely related meaning refers to the worldview of a person, place, or time, as in "The Declaration of Independence was written in the spirit of John Locke and his notions of liberty", or the term zeitgeist, meaning "spirit of the age".
3. As a synonym for "vivacity" as in "She performed the piece with spirit" or "She put up a spirited defense".
4. The underlying intention of a text as distinguished from its literal meaning, especially in law; see Letter and spirit of the law
5. As a term for alcoholic beverages — stemming from medieval superstitions that explained the effects of alcohol as demonic activity.
6. In mysticism: existence in unity with Godhead. Soul may also equate with spirit, but the soul involves certain individual human consciousness, while spirit comes from beyond that. Compare the psychological teaching of Al-Ghazali.

See soul and ghost and spiritual for related discussions.

Related concepts in other languages

Similar concepts in other languages include Greek pneuma and Sanskrit akasha/atman, see also Prana.

Some languages use a word for "spirit" often closely related (if not synonymous) to "mind". Examples include the German, Geist (related to the English word "ghost") or the French, 'l'esprit'. English versions of the Judaeo-Christian Bible most commonly translate the Hebrew word "ruach" (רוח; "wind") as "the spirit", whose essence is divine^[3] (see Holy Spirit and ruach hakodesh). Alternatively, Hebrew texts commonly use the word nephesh. Kabbalists regard nephesh as one of the five parts of the Jewish soul, where nephesh (animal) refers to the physical being and its animal instincts. Similarly, Scandinavian languages, Slavic languages and the Chinese language (qi) use the words for "breath" to express concepts similar to "the spirit".

See also

• Angel
• Astral Projection
• Ba (Egyptian soul)
• Brahman
• Daemon (mythology)
• Deva
• Ekam
• Ghost
• Ka
• Legendary creature
• List of legendary creatures
• Monster
• Pneuma and Pneumatology
• Prana
• Qi
• Soul
• Spiritism
• Spirituality
• Spiritual world

References

1. ^ OED "spirit 2.a.: The soul of a person, as commended to God, or passing out of the body, in the moment of death."
2. ^ Eddy, Mary Baker "Glossary" (TXT) Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures p. 587 http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext02/shkts11.txt. Retrieved 2009-03-11 "GOD. The great I AM; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence." — "Glossary" entry for "GOD".
3. ^ RUACH: Spirit or Wind or ??? at Bibical Heritage Center

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