Where does “spiritualist” come from?
Spiritualist derives from English spiritual combined with the Latin suffix -ista, from Ancient Greek -ιστής denoting a practitioner, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (s)peys- meaning to stretch or extend.
spiritualist (English): One who professes a regard for spiritual things...
Definitions
- One who professes a regard for spiritual things...
Ancestry of “spiritualist”, step by step
spiritualist traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English spiritual
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | spiritual | Of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul; Of or... |
| 2 | Middle English | spiritual | — |
| 3 | Old French | spirituel | — |
| 4 | Late Latin | spiritualis | Alternative form of spīritālis; of breathing, of... |
| 5 | Latin | spīritus | air, breath, breathing |
| 6 | Latin | spīrō | to breathe, draw breath, respire |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)peys- | to blow, breathe; to blow to make noise; to blow;... |
via French spiritualiste
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | spiritualiste | spiritualist |
| 2 | French | spirituel | spiritual; witty |
| 3 | Latin | spīritālis | Of or pertaining to breathing, the wind or air |
| 4 | Latin | -ālis | — |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | -ālis | forms relational adjectives |