Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “spiritually” come from?

Spiritually derives from Middle English -ly adverbial suffix added to spiritual, ultimately from Latin spiritus meaning "breath" or "life force," traced to Proto-Indo-European (s)peys-.

spiritually (English): In a manner affecting or pertaining to the spirit...

Definitions

  1. In a manner affecting or pertaining to the spirit...

Ancestry of “spiritually”, 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;...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)peys- →