Where does “inspire” come from?
Inspire comes from Middle English inspiren, from Old French inspirer and espirer, from Latin inspirare meaning "to breathe into," combining Latin in with a root from Proto-Indo-European (s)peys-.
inspire (English): To infuse into the mind; to communicate to the...
Definitions
- To infuse into the mind; to communicate to the...
Ancestry of “inspire”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | enspiren | to ask, inquire; to inspire |
| 2 | Old French | enspirer | — |
| 3 | Old French | espirer | to breathe in; to breathe life into; to inspire;... |
| 4 | Latin | īnspīrō | to breathe into; to blow upon |
| 5 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 6 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 7 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |