English
animatism
From animate + -ism.
Formed from animate + -ism
Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- ‘to breathe’
…
Latin anima ‘air, breath’
Latin animō ‘to fill with breath, quicken, encourage, animate’
Latin animātus
Middle English animate ‘Animate, alive’
English animate
The story
Originally coined by British anthropologist Robert Marett to refer to "a belief in a generalized, impersonal power over which people have some measure of control".
Today it means
noun The belief that everything is pervaded by a life force giving each inanimate object a consciousness or personality, but not a soul as in animism.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / animatism