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The English word "spirit" comes from the Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 "spiritus" (breath). The term is commonly used to refer to a supernatural
Supernatural

The term supernatural or supranatural pertains to an order of existence beyond the scientifically visible universe. Religious miracles are typically supernatural claims, as are Spell and curses, divination, the belief that there is an afterlife for the dead, and innumerable others....
 being
Being

In ontology being is anything that can be said to be, either Transcendence or Immanence.The nature of being varies by philosophy, given different interpretations in the frameworks of Parmenides, Leucippus, Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Hegel, Heidegger, and Sartre....
 which is transcendent
Transcendence (religion)

In religion, transcendence is a condition or state of being that surpasses physical existence and in one form is also independent of it. It is affirmed in the concept of the divinity in the major religious traditions, and contrasts with the notion of God, or the Absolute , existing exclusively in the physical order , or indistinguishable fro...
 and therefore metaphysical
Metaphysical

Metaphysical may refer to:*Metaphysics, a branch of philosophy dealing with aspects of the ultimate nature of reality*Metaphysical poets, a poetic school from seventeenth century England who correspond with baroque period in European literature...
 in nature. For many people, however, spirit, like soul
Soul

In many religions and parts of philosophy, the soul is the immaterial part of a person. It is usually thought to consist of one's thoughts and Personality psychology, and can be synonymous with the spirit, mind or self....
, is a natural
Natural

Natural can refer to various topics within science and mathematics, music, and other areas.In science and mathematics, natural may refer to:...
 part of a being, and is identified with mind
Mind

Mind refers to the aspects of intellect and consciousness manifested as combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, free will and imagination, including all of the brain's conscious and unconscious cognitive processes....
, or consciousness
Consciousness

Consciousness is a difficult term to define, because the word is used and understood in a wide variety of ways, so that it frequently happens that what one person sees as a definition of consciousness is seen by others as about something else altogether....
, or the brain
Brain

The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate, and most invertebrate, animals. Some primitive animals such as cnidarian and echinoderm have a decentralized nervous system without a brain, while sponges lack any nervous system at all....
.

English word "spirit" comes from the Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 spiritus, meaning "breath" (compare spiritus asper
Spiritus asper

The spiritus asper , is a diacritic used in the polytonic orthography. In ancient Greek, it indicates initial aspiration , or the presence of the voiceless glottal fricative at the beginning of a word....
), but also "soul, courage, vigor", ultimately from a PIE
Pie

A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough shell that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweetness or savoury ingredients....
 root *(s)peis- (to blow).






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The English word "spirit" comes from the Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 "spiritus" (breath). The term is commonly used to refer to a supernatural
Supernatural

The term supernatural or supranatural pertains to an order of existence beyond the scientifically visible universe. Religious miracles are typically supernatural claims, as are Spell and curses, divination, the belief that there is an afterlife for the dead, and innumerable others....
 being
Being

In ontology being is anything that can be said to be, either Transcendence or Immanence.The nature of being varies by philosophy, given different interpretations in the frameworks of Parmenides, Leucippus, Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Hegel, Heidegger, and Sartre....
 which is transcendent
Transcendence (religion)

In religion, transcendence is a condition or state of being that surpasses physical existence and in one form is also independent of it. It is affirmed in the concept of the divinity in the major religious traditions, and contrasts with the notion of God, or the Absolute , existing exclusively in the physical order , or indistinguishable fro...
 and therefore metaphysical
Metaphysical

Metaphysical may refer to:*Metaphysics, a branch of philosophy dealing with aspects of the ultimate nature of reality*Metaphysical poets, a poetic school from seventeenth century England who correspond with baroque period in European literature...
 in nature. For many people, however, spirit, like soul
Soul

In many religions and parts of philosophy, the soul is the immaterial part of a person. It is usually thought to consist of one's thoughts and Personality psychology, and can be synonymous with the spirit, mind or self....
, is a natural
Natural

Natural can refer to various topics within science and mathematics, music, and other areas.In science and mathematics, natural may refer to:...
 part of a being, and is identified with mind
Mind

Mind refers to the aspects of intellect and consciousness manifested as combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, free will and imagination, including all of the brain's conscious and unconscious cognitive processes....
, or consciousness
Consciousness

Consciousness is a difficult term to define, because the word is used and understood in a wide variety of ways, so that it frequently happens that what one person sees as a definition of consciousness is seen by others as about something else altogether....
, or the brain
Brain

The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate, and most invertebrate, animals. Some primitive animals such as cnidarian and echinoderm have a decentralized nervous system without a brain, while sponges lack any nervous system at all....
.

Etymology

The English word "spirit" comes from the Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 spiritus, meaning "breath" (compare spiritus asper
Spiritus asper

The spiritus asper , is a diacritic used in the polytonic orthography. In ancient Greek, it indicates initial aspiration , or the presence of the voiceless glottal fricative at the beginning of a word....
), but also "soul, courage, vigor", ultimately from a PIE
Pie

A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough shell that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweetness or savoury ingredients....
 root *(s)peis- (to blow). In the Vulgate
Vulgate

The Vulgate is an early Fifth Century version of the Bible in Latin, and largely the result of the labors of Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of Vetus Latina....
, the Latin word translates Greek (p?e?ľa) pneuma
Pneuma

Pneuma is an ancient Greek word for "breath," given various technical meanings by medical writers and philosophers of antiquity, including::* Pneuma, "air in motion, breath, wind," equivalent in the material monism of Anaximenes of Miletus to Anaximenes of Miletus#Theories as the element from which all else originated; the earliest exta...
, Hebrew ruah, as opposed to anima
Anima

Anima may refer to:*the Latin term for the "animating principle", see vital force**the Latin translation of Greek Psyche **in Christian contexts, the soul...
, translating psykhe
Psyche (psychology)

In psychoanalysis, the psyche refers to the forces in an individual that influence cognition, behavior and Personality psychology. The word is borrowed from ancient Greek, and refers to the concept of the self, encompassing the modern ideas of soul, Self , and mind....
. The word was loaned into Middle English
Middle English

Middle English is the name given by historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman conquest of England of 1066 and about 1470, when the #Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the introduction of the printing press into England by William...
 via Old French
Old French

Old French was the Romance languages dialect continuum spoken in territories which span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from around 1000 to 1300....
 The distinction between soul
Soul

In many religions and parts of philosophy, the soul is the immaterial part of a person. It is usually thought to consist of one's thoughts and Personality psychology, and can be synonymous with the spirit, mind or self....
 and spirit became current in Judeo-Christian terminology (e.g. Greek. psykhe vs. pneuma, Latin anima vs. spiritus, Hebrew ruach vs. neshama or nephesh
Nephesh

Nephesh is the Hebrew word commonly translated as soul in English. It literally means the "complete life of a being" though it is usually used in the sense of "living being" ....
; in Hebrew neshama from the root NSHM or breath.)

Metaphysical and metaphorical uses


The word is used in two related contexts, one metaphysical
Metaphysics

Metaphysics investigates principles of reality transcending those of any particular science. cosmology and ontology are traditional branches of metaphysics....
 and the other metaphorical.

Its metaphysical context has attained a number of meanings:

  1. An incorporeal
    Incorporeal

    Incorporeal or uncarnate means without the nature of a body or substance. The idea of incorporeality refers to the notion that there is an incorporeal realm or place, that is distinct from the corporeal or material world....
     but ubiquitous, non-quantifiable substance or energy present individually in all living things. Unlike the concept of soul
    Soul

    In many religions and parts of philosophy, the soul is the immaterial part of a person. It is usually thought to consist of one's thoughts and Personality psychology, and can be synonymous with the spirit, mind or self....
    s, which are by definition eternal and usually believed to preexist the body, a spirit develops and grows as an integral aspect of the living being. This concept of the individual spirit is common among traditional peoples. It is therefore important to note the distinction between this concept of spirit and that of the pre-existing or eternal soul because belief in souls is specific and far less common, particularly in traditional societies. This is more properly termed life ("bios" in Greek) ether
    Ether

    Ether is a class of organic compounds which contain an ether functional group ? an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups ? of general formula R?O?R....
     than spirit ("pneuma" in Greek.)
  2. A daemon
    Daemon (mythology)

    The words daemon, d?mon, are Latinized spellings of the Greek language da???? , used purposely today to distinguish the daemons of Ancient Greek religion, good or malevolent "supernatural beings between mortals and gods, such as inferior divinities and ghosts of dead heroes" , from the Judeo-Christian usage demon, a malignant...
     sprite
    Sprite (creature)

    The term sprite is a broad term referring to a number of preternatural legendary creatures. The term is generally used in reference to elf-like creatures, including fairy, dwarf, and the likes of it, but can also signify various spiritual beings, including ghosts....
    , or especially ghost
    Ghost

    File:Henry Fuseli- Hamlet and his father's Ghost.JPGA ghost is popularly held to be the disembodied spirit or soul of a death person. Popularly described as insubstantial and partly transparent, ghosts are reported to haunt particular List of reportedly haunted locations that they were associated with in life or at time of death....
    . A ghost
    Ghost

    File:Henry Fuseli- Hamlet and his father's Ghost.JPGA ghost is popularly held to be the disembodied spirit or soul of a death person. Popularly described as insubstantial and partly transparent, ghosts are reported to haunt particular List of reportedly haunted locations that they were associated with in life or at time of death....
     is usually conceived as a wandering spirit from a being no longer living, having survived the death of the body yet maintaining the mind
    Mind

    Mind refers to the aspects of intellect and consciousness manifested as combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, free will and imagination, including all of the brain's conscious and unconscious cognitive processes....
     and consciousness
    Consciousness

    Consciousness is a difficult term to define, because the word is used and understood in a wide variety of ways, so that it frequently happens that what one person sees as a definition of consciousness is seen by others as about something else altogether....
    .
  3. In religion
    Religion

    A religion is an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of myth, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural or transcendence quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power or truth....
     and spirituality
    Spirituality

    Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit, a concept closely tied to religion and faith, transcendence , or one or more Deity....
    , the respiration
    Respiration (physiology)

    In animal physiology, respiration is the transport of Oxygen from the outside air to the cells within Tissue s and the transport of carbon dioxide in the opposite direction....
     of the human being has for obvious reasons been strongly linked with the very occurrence of life. A similar significance has been attributed to human blood
    Blood

    Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's Cell s ? such as nutrients and oxygen ? and transports waste products away from those same cells....
    . Spirit in this sense denotes that which separates a living body from a corpse and usually implies intelligence
    Intelligence

    Intelligence is an umbrella term used to describe a property of the mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan, to problem solving, to think abstraction, to comprehend ideas, to use language, and to Learning....
    , consciousness
    Consciousness

    Consciousness is a difficult term to define, because the word is used and understood in a wide variety of ways, so that it frequently happens that what one person sees as a definition of consciousness is seen by others as about something else altogether....
     and sentience
    Sentience

    Sentience is the ability to feel or perceive subjectivity. It is an important concept in philosophy, particularly in the philosophy of animal rights and in eastern philosophy, as well as in science fiction and the study of artificial intelligence, although in each of these fields the term is used slightly differently....
    .
  4. Various animistic religions, such as Japan's Shinto
    Shinto

    is the former state religion of Japan and remains the most common name for the nation's non-Buddhist ethnic religion practices. It was formed from disparate local mythologies, beginning with the Kojiki of 712, into an imperial cult called State Shinto that solidified in the Meiji period....
     and various Native American
    Native Americans in the United States

    Native Americans in the United States are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii....
     and African tribal beliefs, focus around invisible beings which represent or are connected to plants, animals (sometimes called Animal Fathers), or even landforms; the English word "spirit" is usually used when translating tales related to such entities.
  5. Spirits are often visualized as being interconnected to all others and The Spirit (singular capitalized
    Capitalization

    Capitalization is writing a word with its first grapheme as a majuscule and the remaining letters in Lower case , in those writing systems which have a letter case....
    ) refers to the theories of a unified spirituality, universal consciousness
    Universal Consciousness

    Universal Consciousness was the fifth solo album released by Alice Coltrane in 1972....
     and some concepts of Deity
    Deity

    A deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divinity, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by human beings....
    . All "spirits" connected, form a greater unity, the Spirit, which has both an identity separate from its elements plus a consciousness
    Consciousness

    Consciousness is a difficult term to define, because the word is used and understood in a wide variety of ways, so that it frequently happens that what one person sees as a definition of consciousness is seen by others as about something else altogether....
     and intellect greater than its elements; an ultimate, unified, non-dual awareness or force
    Force

    In physics, a force is that which can cause an object with mass to change its velocity. Force has both Euclidean_vector#Length of a vector and Direction , making it a Vector quantity....
     of life
    Life

    Life is a characteristic of organisms that exhibit certain biological processes such as chemical reactions or other events that results in a transformation....
     combining or transcending all individual units of consciousness. The experience
    Experience

    Experience as a general concept comprises knowledge of or skill in or observation of some thing or some event gained through involvement in or exposure to that thing or event....
     of such a connection can be a primary basis for spiritual
    Supernatural

    The term supernatural or supranatural pertains to an order of existence beyond the scientifically visible universe. Religious miracles are typically supernatural claims, as are Spell and curses, divination, the belief that there is an afterlife for the dead, and innumerable others....
     belief
    Belief

    Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true....
    . The term spirit has been used in this sense by at least Anthroposophy
    Anthroposophy

    Anthroposophy, a spiritual philosophy based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spirituality world accessible to direct experience through inner development — more specifically through cultivating conscientiously a form of thinking independent of sensory experience....
    , Aurobindo, A Course In Miracles
    A Course in Miracles

    A Course in Miracles written byHelen Schucman and William Thetford that describes a purely non-dualistic approach to spirituality. Schucman dictated the book based on an inner voice, which she described as coming from a Divinity source, specifically Jesus Christ....
    ,     Hegel, and Ken Wilber
    Ken Wilber

    Kenneth Earl Wilber Jr. is an American author who writes on psychology, philosophy, mysticism, ecology, and spiritual evolution. He has been described as New Age, although his writings are critical of much of the New Age Movement....
    . In this use, the term is conceptually identical to Plotinus's
    Plotinus

    Plotinus was a major Philosophy of the ancient world who is widely considered the founder of Neoplatonism . Much of our biographical information about him comes from Porphyry 's preface to his edition of Plotinus' Enneads....
     "One" and Friedrich Schelling's "Absolute." Similarly, according to the pan(en)theistic aspect, Spirit is the essence that can manifest itself as mind
    Mind

    Mind refers to the aspects of intellect and consciousness manifested as combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, free will and imagination, including all of the brain's conscious and unconscious cognitive processes....
    /soul
    Soul

    In many religions and parts of philosophy, the soul is the immaterial part of a person. It is usually thought to consist of one's thoughts and Personality psychology, and can be synonymous with the spirit, mind or self....
     through any level in pantheistic hierarchy/holarchy
    Holarchy

    A holarchy, in the terminology of Arthur Koestler, is a hierarchy of holon s — where a holon is both a part and a whole. The term was coined in Koestler's 1967 book The Ghost in the Machine....
    , such as a mind/soul of a single cell (with very primitive, elemental consciousness), or a human or animal mind/soul (with consciousness
    Consciousness

    Consciousness is a difficult term to define, because the word is used and understood in a wide variety of ways, so that it frequently happens that what one person sees as a definition of consciousness is seen by others as about something else altogether....
     on a level of organic synergy of an individual human/animal), or a (superior) mind/soul with synergetically extremely complex/sophisticated consciousness of whole galaxies involving all sub-levels, all emanating (since it is non-dimensional, or trans-dimensional) from the one Spirit.
  6. In Christian theology
    Theology

    Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
    , the Spirit is also used to describe God
    God

    God is a deity in theism and deism religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
    , or aspects thereof as in Holy Spirit
    Holy Spirit

    In Christianity, the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is the spirit of God. The term Christ , is also used to refer to this presence. That is, the Spirit is considered to act in concert with and share an essential nature with God the Father and God the Son ....
    , referring to a Triune God (Trinity
    Trinity

    In Christianity doctrine, the Trinity is the unity of God the Father, God the Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in monotheism. The doctrine states that God is the Triune God, existing as three persons, or in the Greek hypostasis , but one being....
    ): "The result of God reaching to man by the Father
    Father

    The father is defined as the male parent of an offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother.According to the anthropologist Maurice Godelier, the parental role assumed by human males is a critical difference between human society and that of humans' closest biological relatives - chimpanzees and b...
     as the source, the Son
    Jesus

    Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the Incarnation ....
     as the course ("the Way
    The Way

    The Way may refer to a spiritual path:* An early term for early Christianity * The Way of the Cross, a Catholic devotion to the Passion of Christ....
    "), and through the Spirit as the transmission."
  7. Also in (popular) theological terms, the individual human "spirit" (singular lowercase) is a deeply situated aspect of the soul
    Soul

    In many religions and parts of philosophy, the soul is the immaterial part of a person. It is usually thought to consist of one's thoughts and Personality psychology, and can be synonymous with the spirit, mind or self....
     subject to "spiritual" growth and change; the very seat of emotion and desire, and the transmitting organ by which human beings can contact God
    God

    God is a deity in theism and deism religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
    . In a rare theological definition it is higher consciousness enclosing the soul. It is a central concept of Pneumatology
    Pneumatology

    Pneumatology is the study of spirituality and phenomena, especially the interactions between humans and God.Pneuma is Greek language for "breath", which metaphorically describes a non-material being or influence....
     (in context of the latter definition note that this science studies "pneuma;" Greek for "spirit," not "psyche;" Greek for "soul" studied in psychology
    Psychology

    Psychology is an academic and applied science discipline involving the science study of human mental functions and behavior. Occasionally it also relies on symbolic hermeneutics and critical theory, although these traditions are less pronounced than in other social sciences such as sociology....
    .
  8. In Christian Science
    Christian Science

    Christian Science is a religious belief system claimed to have been discovered in the year 1866 by Mary Baker Eddy. Practiced most prominently by members of the Church of Christ, Scientist that she founded, Christian Science asserts that humanity and the universe as a whole are, correctly viewed, spiritual rather than material; that truth an...
    , Spirit is one of the seven synonyms for God
    God

    God is a deity in theism and deism religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
    . These are: "Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
    Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures

    Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, written by Mary Baker Eddy was inspired by studies of the Bible she undertook in 1867 following a healing experience....
     by Mary Baker Eddy
    Mary Baker Eddy

    Mary Baker Eddy was the founder of the Christian Science movement. Deeply religious, she advocated Christian Science as a spiritual practical solution to health and moral issues....
    , p. 587).
  9. In Harmonism, spirit is a term reserved for those which collectively control and influence an individual from the realm of the mind
    Mind

    Mind refers to the aspects of intellect and consciousness manifested as combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, free will and imagination, including all of the brain's conscious and unconscious cognitive processes....
    .


The metaphorical use of the term likewise has several related meanings:

  1. The loyalty and feeling of inclusion in the social history or collective essence of an institution or group, such as in school spirit
    School Spirit

    School Spirit is a 1985 in film comedy film about high school student who is killed in a car accident and returns as a ghost to haunt his school....
     or esprit de corps.
  2. A closely related meaning refers to the worldview of a person, place, or time, as in "The Declaration of Independence
    United States Declaration of Independence

    The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the Thirteen Colonies then at war with Kingdom of Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire....
     was written in the spirit of John Locke
    John Locke

    John Locke was an English philosopher. Locke is considered the first of the British Empiricism, but is equally important to social contract theory....
     and his notions of liberty", or the term zeitgeist
    Zeitgeist

    Zeitgeist is a German language expression literally translated: Zeit, time; Geist, spirit, meaning "the spirit of the age and its society"....
    , meaning "spirit of the age".
  3. As a synonym for 'vivacity' as in "She performed the piece with spirit." or "She put up a spirited defense."
  4. The underlying intention of a text
    Writing

    Writing is the representation of language in a textual Media through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and the recording of language via a non-textual medium such as Magnetic tape sound recording....
     as distinguished from its literal
    Literal

    Literal may refer to:*Literal and figurative language, taken in a non-figurative sense.*Literal translation, the close adherence to the forms of a source language text....
     meaning, especially in law
    LAW

    LAW may refer to:* Anti-tank warfare, e.g. the US Army M72 LAW or the British Army LAW 80*Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights ...
    ; see Letter and spirit of the law
    Letter and spirit of the law

    The letter of the law versus the spirit of the law is an idiomatic antithesis. When one obeys the letter of the law but not the spirit, he is obeying the literal interpretation of the words of the law, but not the intent of those who wrote the law....
  5. As a term for alcoholic beverages stemming from medieval superstitions that explained the effects of alcohol as demonic activity.
  6. In Mysticism
    Mysticism

    Mysticism is the pursuit of communion with, Unio Mystica with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, Spirituality, or God through direct experience, intuition, or insight....
    , as existence in unity with Godhead
    Godhead

    Godhead may refer to:*God*any deity*divinity, the quality of being God*Conceptions of God**Godhead ? In Judaism, the term "Godhead" is sometimes used to refer to the unknowable aspect of God which lies beyond His actions or emanations ....
    . Soul may also be known as spirit, but soul is certain individual human consciousness, while spirit comes from beyond that.


See soul
Soul

In many religions and parts of philosophy, the soul is the immaterial part of a person. It is usually thought to consist of one's thoughts and Personality psychology, and can be synonymous with the spirit, mind or self....
 and ghost
Ghost

File:Henry Fuseli- Hamlet and his father's Ghost.JPGA ghost is popularly held to be the disembodied spirit or soul of a death person. Popularly described as insubstantial and partly transparent, ghosts are reported to haunt particular List of reportedly haunted locations that they were associated with in life or at time of death....
 for related discussions.or spiritual
Spiritual

Spiritual may refer to:*Spirituality, a concern with matters of the spirit*Spiritual , an African American song, usually with a Christian religious text...


Related concepts in other languages

Similar concepts in other languages include Greek Pneuma
Pneuma

Pneuma is an ancient Greek word for "breath," given various technical meanings by medical writers and philosophers of antiquity, including::* Pneuma, "air in motion, breath, wind," equivalent in the material monism of Anaximenes of Miletus to Anaximenes of Miletus#Theories as the element from which all else originated; the earliest exta...
 and Sanskrit akasha
Akasha

Akasha is the Sanskrit word meaning "Aether " in both its aether and aether senses....
/atman
Atman

Atman may refer to a concept in several Indian religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism:* Atman * Atman Atman may also refer to:...
, see also Prana
Prana

Prana is the Sanskrit for "breath" .It is one of the five organs of vitality or sensation, viz. prana "breath", Vac "speech", caksus "sight", shrotra "hearing", and manas "thought" ....
. In some languages, the word for spirit is often closely related, if not synonymous to mind
Mind

Mind refers to the aspects of intellect and consciousness manifested as combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, free will and imagination, including all of the brain's conscious and unconscious cognitive processes....
. Examples include the German, 'Geist' (related to the English word ghost) or the French, 'l'esprit'. In the Judaeochristian Bible
Bible

The Bible is the central religious text of Judaism and Christianity. The exact Books of the Bible is dependent on the religious traditions of specific denominations....
, the word "ruach
Ruach

In Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel, Ruach is the Isle of Winds. The people of Ruach eat and drink nothing but wind, and live inside weathercocks....
" (???; "wind") is most commonly translated as the spirit, whose essence is divine (see Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit

In Christianity, the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is the spirit of God. The term Christ , is also used to refer to this presence. That is, the Spirit is considered to act in concert with and share an essential nature with God the Father and God the Son ....
; ruach hakodesh). Alternately the word nephesh
Nephesh

Nephesh is the Hebrew word commonly translated as soul in English. It literally means the "complete life of a being" though it is usually used in the sense of "living being" ....
 is commonly used. Nephesh, as referred to by Kabbalists
Kabbalah

Kabbalah is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mysticism aspect of Judaism. It is a set of esoteric teachings that are meant to explain the relationship between an infinite, eternal and essentially unknowable Creator deity with the finite and mortal universe of His creation....
, is one of the five parts of the Jewish soul
Soul

In many religions and parts of philosophy, the soul is the immaterial part of a person. It is usually thought to consist of one's thoughts and Personality psychology, and can be synonymous with the spirit, mind or self....
, where "nephesh" (animal) refers to the physical being and its animal instincts. Similarly, both the Scandinavian languages and the Chinese language
Chinese language

Chinese or the Sinitic language is a language family consisting of language mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan languages of languages....
 uses the term "breath" to refer to the spirit.

See also