Where does “pusillanimity” come from?
Pusillanimity comes from Latin pusillanimitas, combining pusillus (very small) and animus (spirit or courage), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂enh₁mos (spirit).
pusillanimity (English): The quality or state of being pusillanimous; the...
Definitions
- The quality or state of being pusillanimous; the...
Ancestry of “pusillanimity”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | pusillanimous | Showing ignoble cowardice, or contemptible... |
| 2 | Middle French | pusillanimité | — |
| 3 | Latin | pusillanimis | faint-hearted, timid, pusillanimous |
| 4 | Latin | animus | That life-giving aspect which animates: life... |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | anamos | breath; spirit, soul, life force |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂enh₁mos | breath |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂enh₁- | to breathe |