Spirit

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Spirit \Spir"it\, n. [OF. espirit, esperit, F. esprit, L.
     spiritus, from spirare to breathe, to blow. Cf. {Conspire},
     {Expire}, {Esprit}, {Sprite}.]
     1. Air set in motion by breathing; breath; hence, sometimes,
        life itself. [Obs.] "All of spirit would deprive."
        --Spenser.


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              The mild air, with season moderate,
              Gently attempered, and disposed eo well,
              That still it breathed foorth sweet spirit.
                                                    --Spenser.
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     2. A rough breathing; an aspirate, as the letter h; also, a
        mark to denote aspiration; a breathing. [Obs.]
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              Be it a letter or spirit, we have great use for it.
                                                    --B. Jonson.
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     3. Life, or living substance, considered independently of
        corporeal existence; an intelligence conceived of apart
        from any physical organization or embodiment; vital
        essence, force, or energy, as distinct from matter.
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     4. The intelligent, immaterial and immortal part of man; the
        soul, in distinction from the body in which it resides;
        the agent or subject of vital and spiritual functions,
        whether spiritual or material.
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              There is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the
              Almighty giveth them understanding.   --Job xxxii.
                                                    8.
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              As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith
              without works is dead also.           --James ii.
                                                    26.
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              Spirit is a substance wherein thinking, knowing,
              doubting, and a power of moving, do subsist.
                                                    --Locke.
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     5. Specifically, a disembodied soul; the human soul after it
        has left the body.
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              Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was,
              and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
                                                    --Eccl. xii.
                                                    7.
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              Ye gentle spirits far away,
              With whom we shared the cup of grace. --Keble.
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     6. Any supernatural being, good or bad; an apparition; a
        specter; a ghost; also, sometimes, a sprite,; a fairy; an
        elf.
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              Whilst young, preserve his tender mind from all
              impressions of spirits and goblins in the dark.
                                                    --Locke.
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     7. Energy, vivacity, ardor, enthusiasm, courage, etc.
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              "Write it then, quickly," replied Bede; and
              summoning all his spirits together, like the last
              blaze of a candle going out, he indited it, and
              expired.                              --Fuller.
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     8. One who is vivacious or lively; one who evinces great
        activity or peculiar characteristics of mind or temper;
        as, a ruling spirit; a schismatic spirit.
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              Such spirits as he desired to please, such would I
              choose for my judges.                 --Dryden.
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     9. Temper or disposition of mind; mental condition or
        disposition; intellectual or moral state; -- often in the
        plural; as, to be cheerful, or in good spirits; to be
        downhearted, or in bad spirits.
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              God has . . . made a spirit of building succeed a
              spirit of pulling down.               --South.
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              A perfect judge will read each work of wit
              With the same spirit that its author writ. --Pope.
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     10. Intent; real meaning; -- opposed to the letter, or to
         formal statement; also, characteristic quality,
         especially such as is derived from the individual genius
         or the personal character; as, the spirit of an
         enterprise, of a document, or the like.
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     11. Tenuous, volatile, airy, or vapory substance, possessed
         of active qualities.
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               All bodies have spirits . . . within them. --Bacon.
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     12. Any liquid produced by distillation; especially, alcohol,
         the spirits, or spirit, of wine (it having been first
         distilled from wine): -- often in the plural.
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     13. pl. Rum, whisky, brandy, gin, and other distilled liquors
         having much alcohol, in distinction from wine and malt
         liquors.
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     14. (Med.) A solution in alcohol of a volatile principle. Cf.
         {Tincture}. --U. S. Disp.
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     15. (Alchemy) Any one of the four substances, sulphur, sal
         ammoniac, quicksilver, or arsenic (or, according to some,
         orpiment).
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               The four spirits and the bodies seven. --Chaucer.
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     16. (Dyeing) Stannic chloride. See under {Stannic}.
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     Note: Spirit is sometimes joined with other words, forming
           compounds, generally of obvious signification; as,
           spirit-moving, spirit-searching, spirit-stirring, etc.
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     {Astral spirits}, {Familiar spirits}, etc. See under
        {Astral}, {Familiar}, etc.
  
     {Animal spirits}.
         (a) (Physiol.) The fluid which at one time was supposed
             to circulate through the nerves and was regarded as
             the agent of sensation and motion; -- called also the
             {nervous fluid}, or {nervous principle}.
         (b) Physical health and energy; frolicsomeness;
             sportiveness.
  
     {Ardent spirits}, strong alcoholic liquors, as brandy, rum,
        whisky, etc., obtained by distillation.
  
     {Holy Spirit}, or {The Spirit} (Theol.), the Spirit of God,
        or the third person of the Trinity; the Holy Ghost. The
        spirit also signifies the human spirit as influenced or
        animated by the Divine Spirit.
  
     {Proof spirit}. (Chem.) See under {Proof}.
  
     {Rectified spirit} (Chem.), spirit rendered purer or more
        concentrated by redistillation, so as to increase the
        percentage of absolute alcohol.
  
     {Spirit butterfly} (Zool.), any one of numerous species of
        delicate butterflies of tropical America belonging to the
        genus {Ithomia}. The wings are gauzy and nearly destitute
        of scales.
  
     {Spirit duck}. (Zool.)
         (a) The buffle-headed duck.
         (b) The golden-eye.
  
     {Spirit lamp} (Art), a lamp in which alcohol or methylated
        spirit is burned.
  
     {Spirit level}. See under {Level}.
  
     {Spirit of hartshorn}. (Old Chem.) See under {Hartshorn}.
  
     {Spirit of Mindererus} (Med.), an aqueous solution of acetate
        of ammonium; -- named after R. Minderer, physician of
        Augsburg.
  
     {Spirit of nitrous ether} (Med. Chem.), a pale yellow liquid,
        of a sweetish taste and a pleasant ethereal odor. It is
        obtained by the distillation of alcohol with nitric and
        sulphuric acids, and consists essentially of ethyl nitrite
        with a little acetic aldehyde. It is used as a
        diaphoretic, diuretic, antispasmodic, etc. Called also
        {sweet spirit of niter}.
  
     {Spirit of salt} (Chem.), hydrochloric acid; -- so called
        because obtained from salt and sulphuric acid. [Obs.]
  
     {Spirit of sense}, the utmost refinement of sensation. [Obs.]
        --Shak.
  
     {Spirits of turpentine}, or {Spirit of turpentine} (Chem.),
        rectified oil of turpentine, a transparent, colorless,
        volatile, and very inflammable liquid, distilled from the
        turpentine of the various species of pine; camphine. It is
        commonly used to remove paint from surfaces, or to dissole
        oil-based paint. See {Camphine}.
  
     {Spirit of vitriol} (Chem.), sulphuric acid; -- so called
        because formerly obtained by the distillation of green
        vitriol. [Obs.]
  
     {Spirit of vitriolic ether} (Chem.) ethyl ether; -- often but
        incorrectly called {sulphuric ether}. See {Ether}. [Obs.]
        
  
     {Spirits of wine}, or {Spirit of wine} (Chem.), alcohol; --
        so called because formerly obtained by the distillation of
        wine.
  
     {Spirit rapper}, one who practices spirit rapping; a "medium"
        so called.
  
     {Spirit rapping}, an alleged form of communication with the
        spirits of the dead by raps. See {Spiritualism}, 3.
  
     {Sweet spirit of niter}. See {Spirit of nitrous ether},
        above.
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     Syn: Life; ardor; energy; fire; courage; animatioon;
          cheerfulness; vivacity; enterprise.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Spirit \Spir"it\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Spirited}; p. pr. & vb.
     n. {Spiriting}.]
     1. To animate with vigor; to excite; to encourage; to
        inspirit; as, civil dissensions often spirit the ambition
        of private men; -- sometimes followed by up.
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              Many officers and private men spirit up and assist
              those obstinate people to continue in their
              rebellion.                            --Swift.
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     2. To convey rapidly and secretly, or mysteriously, as if by
        the agency of a spirit; to kidnap; -- often with away, or
        off.
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              The ministry had him spirited away, and carried
              abroad as a dangerous person.         --Arbuthnot &
                                                    Pope.
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              I felt as if I had been spirited into some castle of
              antiquity.                            --Willis.
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     {Spiriting away} (Law), causing to leave; the offense of
        inducing a witness to leave a jurisdiction so as to evade
        process requiring attendance at trial.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  spirit
       n 1: the vital principle or animating force within living things
       2: the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the
          effect that it has on people; "the feel of the city
          excited him"; "a clergyman improved the tone of the
          meeting"; "it had the smell of treason" [syn: {tone}, {feel},
           {feeling}, {flavor}, {flavour}, {look}, {smell}]
       3: a fundamental emotional and activating principle determining
          one's character
       4: any incorporeal supernatural being that can become visible
          (or audible) to human beings [syn: {disembodied spirit}]
       5: the state of a person's emotions (especially with regard to
          pleasure or dejection); "his emotional state depended on
          her opinion"; "he was in good spirits"; "his spirit rose"
          [syn: {emotional state}]
       6: the intended meaning of a communication [syn: {intent}, {purport}]
       7: animation and energy in action or expression; "it was a
          heavy play and the actors tried in vain to give life to
          it" [syn: {liveliness}, {life}, {sprightliness}]
       8: an inclination or tendency of a certain kind; "he had a
          change of heart" [syn: {heart}]
       v : infuse with spirit; "The company spirited him up" [syn: {spirit
           up}, {inspirit}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  572 Moby Thesaurus words for "spirit":
     Geist, Masan, Muse, abandon, abduce, abduct, activity,
     adventuresomeness, adventurousness, affective meaning, afflatus,
     aggression, aggressiveness, aim, air, airy nothing, alacrity,
     alcohol, ambitiousness, anima, anima humana, animal spirits,
     animate, animating force, animation, animus, anxiety, anxiousness,
     apparition, appearance, appetite, aqua vitae, ardency, ardor,
     astral, astral body, astral spirit, atman, atmosphere, attitude,
     atua, aura, avidity, avidness, axiom, ba, backbone, banshee,
     baring, bathmism, beating heart, being, bent, biological clock,
     biorhythm, blood, body-build, bones, booze, bosom, bottom, brand,
     bravery, breast, breath, breath of life, breathless impatience,
     breeziness, brio, briskness, bubble, bubbliness, buddhi,
     capersomeness, carry away, carry off, cast, center, center of life,
     character, characteristic, characteristics, cheer,
     cheerful readiness, chutzpah, climate, coloring, coltishness,
     commitment, committedness, complexion, composition, concentrate,
     concentration, connotation, consciousness, consequence,
     constituents, constitution, control, core, courage, crasis,
     creative thought, creativity, crimp, cue, daemon, daimonion,
     daring, dash, dauntlessness, decoction, dedication, demon,
     denotation, departed spirit, desire, devotedness, devotion,
     devoutness, dharma, diathesis, disembodied spirit, disposition,
     distillate, distillation, divine afflatus, divine breath,
     divine spark, drift, drink, drive, duppy, dybbuk, dynamism,
     eagerness, earnestness, ebullience, ecstasy, effect, effervescence,
     ego, eidolon, elan, elan vital, elixir, embue, energy, enliven,
     enterprise, enterprisingness, enthusiasm, esoteric reality, esprit,
     esprit de corps, essence, essence of life, essential, ether, ethos,
     evil spirits, excitement, exhilarate, extension, extract,
     extraction, exuberance, fabric, faith, faithfulness, feel, feeling,
     feelings, fervency, fervidness, fervor, fiber, fidelity, fire,
     fire of genius, firewater, flower, focus, force, force of life,
     forcefulness, form, forwardness, frame, frame of mind, friskiness,
     frolicsomeness, fundamental, furor, fury, gaiety, gameness,
     gamesomeness, gayness, genius, get-up-and-get, get-up-and-go,
     getup, ghost, gimp, ginger, gist, glow, go, go-ahead, go-getting,
     go-to-itiveness, grain, grammatical meaning, grateful dead,
     gravamen, grit, grog, gross body, growth force, guide, gumption,
     gust, gusto, guts, gutsiness, guttiness, habit, hant, haunt, heart,
     heart of hearts, heart of oak, heartbeat, heartblood, heartiness,
     heartstrings, heat, heatedness, hold for ransom, hooch, hue, humor,
     humors, hustle, hypostasis, idea, idolum, ilk, illusion, imbue,
     immateriality, impact, impassionedness, impatience, impetuosity,
     impetus, implication, import, impress, impulse, impulse of life,
     inclination, incorporeal, incorporeal being, incorporeity, infect,
     inform, infuse, infusion, initiative, inject, inmost heart,
     inmost soul, inner essence, inner man, inner nature,
     innermost being, inoculate, inside, inspiration, inspire, inspirit,
     inspiriting force, intelligence, intension, intensity, intent,
     intention, intentness, intestinal fortitude, jiva, jivatma,
     joie de vivre, juice, kama, keen desire, keenness, kernel, khu,
     kidnap, kind, larva, lemures, lexical meaning, life, life breath,
     life cycle, life essence, life force, life principle, life process,
     lifeblood, linga sharira, liquor, literal meaning, liveliness,
     living force, loyalty, lustiness, makeup, manas, manes, manfulness,
     manliness, marrow, material, materialization, matter, meaning,
     meat, medium, mediumism, message, mettle, mettlesomeness, might,
     milieu, mind, mist, mold, mood, morale, motivation, moxie, nature,
     necromancy, nephesh, nerve, nerve center, note, notion, nub,
     nucleus, nuts and bolts, oni, oomph, overtone, panache, passion,
     passionateness, passions, pep, pepper, peppiness, perkiness,
     persona, pertinence, pertness, phantasm, phantasma, phantom,
     physical body, physique, piquancy, piss and vinegar, pith, pizzazz,
     playfulness, pluck, pluckiness, pneuma, poignancy, point,
     poltergeist, postulate, power, practical consequence, prana,
     presence, principle, principle of desire, promptness, property,
     psyche, pungency, purification, purport, purpose, purusha, push,
     pushfulness, pushiness, pushingness, quality, quick, quickness,
     quid, quiddity, quintessence, raciness, range of meaning,
     readiness, real meaning, reference, referent, refinement, relation,
     relevance, relish, resoluteness, resolution, resolve, revenant,
     robustness, rollicksomeness, rompishness, ruach, run away with,
     sand, sap, sauce, savor, scope, seance, seat of life, secret heart,
     secret places, self, semantic cluster, semantic field, sense,
     sentiments, seriousness, shade, shadow, shanghai, shape,
     shrouded spirit, significance, signification, significatum,
     signifie, sincerity, sitting, skittishness, skyjack, smoke, snap,
     snatch, somatotype, sort, soul, span of meaning, spark of life,
     sparkle, specter, spectral ghost, spice, spirit away, spirit up,
     spiritedness, spiritism, spirits, spiritual being, spiritualism,
     spiritus, spook, sportiveness, sprightliness, sprite, spunk,
     spunkiness, stamina, stamp, starch, state of mind, sthula sharira,
     stout heart, streak, strength, stripe, strong drink,
     structural meaning, stuff, substance, suchness, sum,
     sum and substance, supernatural being, symbolic meaning, system,
     take away, talent, team spirit, temper, temperament, tendency,
     tenor, the nitty-gritty, the self, theophany, thin air, thought,
     timbre, tipple, tone, totality of associations, toughness,
     transferred meaning, transport, true being, true grit,
     true inwardness, type, umbra, unadorned meaning, undertone,
     unsubstantiality, up-and-comingness, urge, valor, value, vapor,
     vehemence, vein, venturesomeness, venturousness, verve, vigor, vim,
     vis vitae, vis vitalis, viscera, vision, vital energy, vital flame,
     vital fluid, vital force, vital principle, vital spark,
     vital spirit, vitality, vitals, vivaciousness, vivacity, vividness,
     walking dead man, wandering soul, warmth, warmth of feeling, way,
     will, wraith, zeal, zealousness, zest, zestfulness, zing, zip,
     zombie
  
  

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Spirit
     (Heb. ruah; Gr. pneuma), properly wind or breath. In 2 Thess.
     2:8 it means "breath," and in Eccl. 8:8 the vital principle in
     man. It also denotes the rational, immortal soul by which man is
     distinguished (Acts 7:59; 1 Cor. 5:5; 6:20; 7:34), and the soul
     in its separate state (Heb. 12:23), and hence also an apparition
     (Job 4:15; Luke 24:37, 39), an angel (Heb. 1:14), and a demon
     (Luke 4:36; 10:20). This word is used also metaphorically as
     denoting a tendency (Zech. 12:10; Luke 13:11).
     
       In Rom. 1:4, 1 Tim. 3:16, 2 Cor. 3:17, 1 Pet. 3:18, it
     designates the divine nature.