Where does “Spiritualism” come from?
Spiritualism derives from English spiritual, which combines Latin spiritus (breath, life force) from Proto-Indo-European (s)peys- (to breathe, spread), with the Ancient Greek suffix -ισμός denoting a doctrine or practice.
Spiritualism (English): A belief that spirits of the dead have both the...
Definitions
- A belief that spirits of the dead have both the...
Ancestry of “Spiritualism”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | spiritual | Of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul; Of or... |
| 2 | Middle English | spiritual | — |
| 3 | Old French | spirituel | — |
| 4 | Late Latin | spiritualis | Alternative form of spīritālis; of breathing, of... |
| 5 | Latin | spīritus | air, breath, breathing |
| 6 | Latin | spīrō | to breathe, draw breath, respire |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)peys- | to blow, breathe; to blow to make noise; to blow;... |