English
anima
Anima comes from Latin anima ‘a current of air, wind, air, breath, the vital…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂enh₁-‘to breathe’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanima‘a current of air, wind, air, breath, the vital principle, life, soul’
- Englishearliest quotation 1665same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂enh₁-‘to breathe’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanima‘a current of air, wind, air, breath, the vital principle, life, soul’
- Englishearliest quotation 1665same form
Earliest quotation: 1665, Robert Hooke, Micrographia: “[W]e cannot chuse but admire the exceeding vividness of…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- ‘to breathe’
and, asthma, inhale, unanimously, unanimous, animosity, exhalation, anemone, onde, prana, animus, 21 more
through Latin anima ‘a current of air, wind, air, breath, the vital…’
Today it means
noun The soul or animating principle of a living thing, especially as contrasted with the animus.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- / anima