Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “animate” come from?

Animate comes from Old English animate, from Latin animatus, the past participle of Latin animare meaning to give life to, derived from Latin animus meaning soul or spirit, from Proto-Italic anamos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂enh₁mos.

animate (English): That which lives; Possessing the quality or...

Definitions

  1. That which lives; Possessing the quality or...

Ancestry of “animate”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishanimate—
2Latinanimātus—
3Latinanimō—
4Latinanimasoul, spirit, life; air, breeze; breath
5LatinanimusThat life-giving aspect which animates: life...
6Proto-Italicanamosbreath; spirit, soul, life force
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂enh₁mosbreath
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂enh₁-to breathe

Words derived from “animate”

  • inanimate
  • animator
  • reanimate
  • animacy
  • interanimate
  • inanimateness
  • animatism
  • inanimately
  • animatable
  • animateness
  • reanimator
  • animative
  • animateth
  • disanimate
  • animately
  • animatest
  • semianimate
  • animatography
  • transanimate
  • アニメーター
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂enh₁- →