Where does “animacy” come from?
Animacy comes from English animate, via Anglo-Norman -cie, from Latin animatus meaning "endowed with life or soul," derived from Latin animus meaning "soul" or "life force."
animacy (English): In some languages, the characteristic of a noun,...
Definitions
- In some languages, the characteristic of a noun,...
Ancestry of “animacy”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | animate | That which lives; Possessing the quality or... |
| 2 | Middle English | animate | animate, alive; showing the signs or symptoms of life |
| 3 | Latin | animātus | filled with breath or air |
| 4 | Latin | animō | to fill with breath or air |
| 5 | Latin | anima | soul, spirit, life; air, breeze; breath |
| 6 | Latin | animus | That life-giving aspect which animates: life... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | anamos | breath; spirit, soul, life force |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂enh₁mos | breath |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂enh₁- | to breathe |