Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “spiritualism” come from?

Spiritualism comes from English spiritual plus the suffix -ism, derived from Ancient Greek -ισμός and -μός, from Proto-Indo-European -mós, ultimately from the root (s)peys- meaning to breathe or blow.

spiritualism (English): A doctrine, opposing materialism, that claims...

Definitions

  1. A doctrine, opposing materialism, that claims...

Ancestry of “spiritualism”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishspiritualOf or pertaining to the spirit or the soul; Of or...
2Middle Englishspiritual—
3Old Frenchspirituel—
4Late LatinspiritualisAlternative form of spīritālis; of breathing, of...
5Latinspīritus—
6Latinspīrō—
7Proto-Indo-European(s)peys-to blow, breathe; to blow to make noise; to blow;...

Words derived from “spiritualism”

  • antispiritualism
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)peys- →