spir·it
(sp
r
t)
KEY
NOUN:
-
- The vital principle or animating force within living beings.
- Incorporeal consciousness.
- The soul, considered as departing from the body of a person at death.
-
Spirit
The Holy Spirit.
- A supernatural being, as:
- An angel or a demon.
- A being inhabiting or embodying a particular place, object, or natural phenomenon.
- A fairy or sprite.
-
- The part of a human associated with the mind, will, and feelings:
Though unable to join us today, they are with us in spirit.
- The essential nature of a person or group.
- A person as characterized by a stated quality:
He is a proud spirit.
-
- An inclination or tendency of a specified kind:
Her actions show a generous spirit.
- A causative, activating, or essential principle:
The couple's engagement was announced in a joyous spirit.
-
spirits
A mood or an emotional state:
The guests were in high spirits. His sour spirits put a damper on the gathering.
- A particular mood or an emotional state characterized by vigor and animation:
sang with spirit.
- Strong loyalty or dedication:
team spirit.
- The predominant mood of an occasion or a period:
"The spirit of 1776 is not dead"
(Thomas Jefferson).
- The actual though unstated sense or significance of something:
the spirit of the law.
- An alcohol solution of an essential or volatile substance. Often used in the plural with a singular verb.
-
spirits
An alcoholic beverage, especially distilled liquor.
TRANSITIVE VERB:
spir·it·ed
,
spir·it·ing
,
spir·its
- To carry off mysteriously or secretly:
The documents had been spirited away.
- To impart courage, animation, or determination to; inspirit.
ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, from Old French
espirit, from Latin
sp
ritus,
breath, from
spr
re,
to breathe
