 |
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Spirit \Spir"it\, noun [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 deprive.'' --Spenser.
The mild air, with season moderate, Gently attempered, and disposed eo well, That still it breathed foorth sweet spirit. --Spenser.
2. A rough breathing; an aspirate, as the letter h; also, a mark to denote aspiration; a breathing. [Obs.]
Be it a letter or spirit, we have great use for it. --B. Jonson.
3. Life, or living substance, considered independently of corporeal existence; an intelligence conceived of apart from any physical organization or embodiment; vital essence, force, or energy, as distinct from matter.
4. The intelligent, immaterial and immortal part of man; the soul, in distinction from the body in which it resides; the agent or subject of vital and spiritual functions, whether spiritual or material.
There is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. --Job xxxii. 8.
As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. --James ii. 26.
Spirit is a substance wherein thinking, knowing, doubting, and a power of moving, do subsist. --Locke.
5. Specifically, a disembodied soul; the human soul after it has left the body.
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. --Eccl. xii. 7.
Ye gentle spirits far away, With whom we shared the cup of grace. --Keble.
6. Any supernatural being, good or bad; an apparition; a specter; a ghost; also, sometimes, a sprite,; a fairy; an elf.
Whilst young, preserve his tender mind from all impressions of spirits and goblins in the dark. --Locke.
7. Energy, vivacity, ardor, enthusiasm, courage, etc.
''Write it then, quickly,'' replied Bede; and summoning all his spirits together, like the last blaze of a candle going out, he indited it, and expired. --Fuller.
8. One who is vivacious or lively; one who evinces great activity or peculiar characteristics of mind or temper; as, a ruling spirit; a schismatic spirit.
Such spirits as he desired to please, such would I choose for my judges. --Dryden.
9. Temper or disposition of mind; mental condition or disposition; intellectual or moral state; -- often in the plural; as, to be cheerful, or in good spirits; to be downhearted, or in bad spirits.
God has . . . made a spirit of building succeed a spirit of pulling down. --South.
A perfect judge will read each work of wit With the same spirit that its author writ. --Pope.
10. Intent; real meaning; -- opposed to the letter, or to formal statement; also, characteristic quality, especially such as is derived from the individual genius or the personal character; as, the spirit of an enterprise, of a document, or the like.
11. Tenuous, volatile, airy, or vapory substance, possessed of active qualities.
All bodies have spirits . . . within them. --Bacon.
12. Any liquid produced by distillation; especially, alcohol, the spirits, or spirit, of wine (it having been first distilled from wine): -- often in the plural.
13. pl. Rum, whisky, brandy, gin, and other distilled liquors having much alcohol, in distinction from wine and malt liquors.
14. (Med.) A solution in alcohol of a volatile principle. Cf. {Tincture}. --U. S. Disp.
15. (Alchemy) Any one of the four substances, sulphur, sal ammoniac, quicksilver, or arsenic (or, according to some, orpiment).
The four spirits and the bodies seven. --Chaucer.
16. (Dyeing) Stannic chloride. See under {Stannic}.
Note: Spirit is sometimes joined with other words, forming compounds, generally of obvious signification; as, spirit-moving, spirit-searching, spirit-stirring, etc.
{Astral spirits}, {Familiar spirits}, etc. See under {Astral}, {Familiar}, etc.
{Animal spirits}. (a) (Physiol.) The fluid which at one time was supposed to circulate through the nerves and was regarded as the agent of sensation and motion; -- called also the {nervous fluid}, or {nervous principle}. (b) Physical health and energy; frolicsomeness; sportiveness.
{Ardent spirits}, strong alcoholic liquors, as brandy, rum, whisky, etc., obtained by distillation.
{Holy Spirit}, or {The Spirit} (Theol.), the Spirit of God, or the third person of the Trinity; the Holy Ghost. The spirit also signifies the human spirit as influenced or animated by the Divine Spirit.
{Proof spirit}. (Chem.) See under {Proof}.
{Rectified spirit} (Chem.), spirit rendered purer or more concentrated by redistillation, so as to increase the percentage of absolute alcohol.
{Spirit butterfly} (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of delicate butterflies of tropical America belonging to the genus {Ithomia}. The wings are gauzy and nearly destitute of scales.
{Spirit duck}. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The buffle-headed duck. (b) The golden-eye.
{Spirit lamp} (Art), a lamp in which alcohol or methylated spirit is burned.
{Spirit level}. See under {Level}.
{Spirit of hartshorn}. (Old Chem.) See under {Hartshorn}.
{Spirit of Mindererus} (Med.), an aqueous solution of acetate of ammonium; -- named after R. Minderer, physician of Augsburg.
{Spirit of nitrous ether} (Med. Chem.), a pale yellow liquid, of a sweetish taste and a pleasant ethereal odor. It is obtained by the distillation of alcohol with nitric and sulphuric acids, and consists essentially of ethyl nitrite with a little acetic aldehyde. It is used as a diaphoretic, diuretic, antispasmodic, etc. Called also {sweet spirit of niter}.
{Spirit of salt} (Chem.), hydrochloric acid; -- so called because obtained from salt and sulphuric acid. [Obs.]
{Spirit of sense}, the utmost refinement of sensation. [Obs.] --Shak.
{Spirits of turpentine}, or {Spirit of turpentine} (Chem.), rectified oil of turpentine, a transparent, colorless, volatile, and very inflammable liquid, distilled from the turpentine of the various species of pine; camphine. It is commonly used to remove paint from surfaces, or to dissole oil-based paint. See {Camphine}.
{Spirit of vitriol} (Chem.), sulphuric acid; -- so called because formerly obtained by the distillation of green vitriol. [Obs.]
{Spirit of vitriolic ether} (Chem.) ethyl ether; -- often but incorrectly called {sulphuric ether}. See {Ether}. [Obs.]
{Spirits of wine}, or {Spirit of wine} (Chem.), alcohol; -- so called because formerly obtained by the distillation of wine.
{Spirit rapper}, one who practices spirit rapping; a ''medium'' so called.
{Spirit rapping}, an alleged form of communication with the spirits of the dead by raps. See {Spiritualism}, 3.
{Sweet spirit of niter}. See {Spirit of nitrous ether}, above.
Syn: Life; ardor; energy; fire; courage; animatioon; cheerfulness; vivacity; enterprise.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Spirit \Spir"it\, verb (used with an object) [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.
Many officers and private men spirit up and assist those obstinate people to continue in their rebellion. --Swift.
2. 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.
I felt as if I had been spirited into some castle of antiquity. --Willis.
{Spiriting away} (Law), causing to leave; the offense of inducing a witness to leave a jurisdiction so as to evade process requiring attendance at trial.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
spirit
noun
1: the vital principle or animating force within living things
2: the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people; "the feel of the city excited him"; "a clergyman improved the tone of the meeting"; "it had the smell of treason" [syn: {tone}, {feel}, {feeling}, {flavor}, {flavour}, {look}, {smell}]
3: a fundamental emotional and activating principle determining one's character
4: any incorporeal supernatural being that can become visible (or audible) to human beings [syn: {disembodied spirit}]
5: the state of a person's emotions (especially with regard to pleasure or dejection); "his emotional state depended on her opinion"; "he was in good spirits"; "his spirit rose" [syn: {emotional state}]
6: the intended meaning of a communication [syn: {intent}, {purport}]
7: animation and energy in action or expression; "it was a heavy play and the actors tried in vain to give life to it" [syn: {liveliness}, {life}, {sprightliness}]
8: an inclination or tendency of a certain kind; "he had a change of heart" [syn: {heart}]
verb: infuse with spirit; "The company spirited him up" [syn: {spirit up}, {inspirit}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
572 Moby Thesaurus words for "spirit": Geist, Masan, Muse, abandon, abduce, abduct, activity, adventuresomeness, adventurousness, affective meaning, afflatus, aggression, aggressiveness, aim, air, airy nothing, alacrity, alcohol, ambitiousness, anima, anima humana, animal spirits, animate, animating force, animation, animus, anxiety, anxiousness, apparition, appearance, appetite, aqua vitae, ardency, ardor, astral, astral body, astral spirit, atman, atmosphere, attitude, atua, aura, avidity, avidness, axiom, ba, backbone, banshee, baring, bathmism, beating heart, being, bent, biological clock, biorhythm, blood, body-build, bones, booze, bosom, bottom, brand, bravery, breast, breath, breath of life, breathless impatience, breeziness, brio, briskness, bubble, bubbliness, buddhi, capersomeness, carry away, carry off, cast, center, center of life, character, characteristic, characteristics, cheer, cheerful readiness, chutzpah, climate, coloring, coltishness, commitment, committedness, complexion, composition, concentrate, concentration, connotation, consciousness, consequence, constituents, constitution, control, core, courage, crasis, creative thought, creativity, crimp, cue, daemon, daimonion, daring, dash, dauntlessness, decoction, dedication, demon, denotation, departed spirit, desire, devotedness, devotion, devoutness, dharma, diathesis, disembodied spirit, disposition, distillate, distillation, divine afflatus, divine breath, divine spark, drift, drink, drive, duppy, dybbuk, dynamism, eagerness, earnestness, ebullience, ecstasy, effect, effervescence, ego, eidolon, elan, elan vital, elixir, embue, energy, enliven, enterprise, enterprisingness, enthusiasm, esoteric reality, esprit, esprit de corps, essence, essence of life, essential, ether, ethos, evil spirits, excitement, exhilarate, extension, extract, extraction, exuberance, fabric, faith, faithfulness, feel, feeling, feelings, fervency, fervidness, fervor, fiber, fidelity, fire, fire of genius, firewater, flower, focus, force, force of life, forcefulness, form, forwardness, frame, frame of mind, friskiness, frolicsomeness, fundamental, furor, fury, gaiety, gameness, gamesomeness, gayness, genius, get-up-and-get, get-up-and-go, getup, ghost, gimp, ginger, gist, glow, go, go-ahead, go-getting, go-to-itiveness, grain, grammatical meaning, grateful dead, gravamen, grit, grog, gross body, growth force, guide, gumption, gust, gusto, guts, gutsiness, guttiness, habit, hant, haunt, heart, heart of hearts, heart of oak, heartbeat, heartblood, heartiness, heartstrings, heat, heatedness, hold for ransom, hooch, hue, humor, humors, hustle, hypostasis, idea, idolum, ilk, illusion, imbue, immateriality, impact, impassionedness, impatience, impetuosity, impetus, implication, import, impress, impulse, impulse of life, inclination, incorporeal, incorporeal being, incorporeity, infect, inform, infuse, infusion, initiative, inject, inmost heart, inmost soul, inner essence, inner man, inner nature, innermost being, inoculate, inside, inspiration, inspire, inspirit, inspiriting force, intelligence, intension, intensity, intent, intention, intentness, intestinal fortitude, jiva, jivatma, joie de vivre, juice, kama, keen desire, keenness, kernel, khu, kidnap, kind, larva, lemures, lexical meaning, life, life breath, life cycle, life essence, life force, life principle, life process, lifeblood, linga sharira, liquor, literal meaning, liveliness, living force, loyalty, lustiness, makeup, manas, manes, manfulness, manliness, marrow, material, materialization, matter, meaning, meat, medium, mediumism, message, mettle, mettlesomeness, might, milieu, mind, mist, mold, mood, morale, motivation, moxie, nature, necromancy, nephesh, nerve, nerve center, note, notion, nub, nucleus, nuts and bolts, oni, oomph, overtone, panache, passion, passionateness, passions, pep, pepper, peppiness, perkiness, persona, pertinence, pertness, phantasm, phantasma, phantom, physical body, physique, piquancy, piss and vinegar, pith, pizzazz, playfulness, pluck, pluckiness, pneuma, poignancy, point, poltergeist, postulate, power, practical consequence, prana, presence, principle, principle of desire, promptness, property, psyche, pungency, purification, purport, purpose, purusha, push, pushfulness, pushiness, pushingness, quality, quick, quickness, quid, quiddity, quintessence, raciness, range of meaning, readiness, real meaning, reference, referent, refinement, relation, relevance, relish, resoluteness, resolution, resolve, revenant, robustness, rollicksomeness, rompishness, ruach, run away with, sand, sap, sauce, savor, scope, seance, seat of life, secret heart, secret places, self, semantic cluster, semantic field, sense, sentiments, seriousness, shade, shadow, shanghai, shape, shrouded spirit, significance, signification, significatum, signifie, sincerity, sitting, skittishness, skyjack, smoke, snap, snatch, somatotype, sort, soul, span of meaning, spark of life, sparkle, specter, spectral ghost, spice, spirit away, spirit up, spiritedness, spiritism, spirits, spiritual being, spiritualism, spiritus, spook, sportiveness, sprightliness, sprite, spunk, spunkiness, stamina, stamp, starch, state of mind, sthula sharira, stout heart, streak, strength, stripe, strong drink, structural meaning, stuff, substance, suchness, sum, sum and substance, supernatural being, symbolic meaning, system, take away, talent, team spirit, temper, temperament, tendency, tenor, the nitty-gritty, the self, theophany, thin air, thought, timbre, tipple, tone, totality of associations, toughness, transferred meaning, transport, true being, true grit, true inwardness, type, umbra, unadorned meaning, undertone, unsubstantiality, up-and-comingness, urge, valor, value, vapor, vehemence, vein, venturesomeness, venturousness, verve, vigor, vim, vis vitae, vis vitalis, viscera, vision, vital energy, vital flame, vital fluid, vital force, vital principle, vital spark, vital spirit, vitality, vitals, vivaciousness, vivacity, vividness, walking dead man, wandering soul, warmth, warmth of feeling, way, will, wraith, zeal, zealousness, zest, zestfulness, zing, zip, zombie
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:
Spirit (Heb. ruah; Gr. pneuma), properly wind or breath. In 2 Thess. 2:8 it means "breath," and in Eccl. 8:8 the vital principle in man. It also denotes the rational, immortal soul by which man is distinguished (Acts 7:59; 1 Cor. 5:5; 6:20; 7:34), and the soul in its separate state (Heb. 12:23), and hence also an apparition (Job 4:15; Luke 24:37, 39), an angel (Heb. 1:14), and a demon (Luke 4:36; 10:20). This word is used also metaphorically as denoting a tendency (Zech. 12:10; Luke 13:11). In Rom. 1:4, 1 Tim. 3:16, 2 Cor. 3:17, 1 Pet. 3:18, it designates the divine nature.
 |
Definitions retrieved from local copies of the DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |