*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of anima

Borrowed from Latin anima (“a current of air, wind, air, breath, the vital principle, life, soul”), sometimes equivalent to animus (“mind”), both from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- (“to breathe, blow”); see animus. Cognat

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

The soul or animating principle of a living thing, especially as contrasted with the animus. · The inner self (not the external persona) of a person that is in touch with the unconscious as opposed to the persona. · The unconscious feminine aspect of a person.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Latin anima (“a current of air, wind, air, breath, the vital principle, life, soul”), sometimes equivalent to animus (“mind”), both from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- (“to breathe, blow”); see animus. Cognate with Ancient Greek ἄνεμος (ánemos, “wind”), Old English anda (“anger, envy, zeal”). More at onde.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Root classification mention*h₂enh₁-ine-pro
  • Borrowed-form mentionanimala · a current of air, wind, air, breath, the vital principle, life, soul
  • Derivation mention*h₂enh₁-ine-pro · to breathe, blow
  • Cognate mentionἄνεμοςgrc · wind
  • Cognate mentionandaang · anger, envy, zeal
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₂enh₁-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "bor+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "anima",
        "t": "a current of air, wind, air, breath, the vital principle, life, soul"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Latin anima (“a current of air, wind, air, breath, the vital principle, life, soul”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₂enh₁-",
        "t": "to breathe, blow"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- (“to breathe, blow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "grc",
        "2": "ἄνεμος",
        "t": "wind"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek ἄνεμος (ánemos, “wind”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "anda",
        "t": "anger, envy, zeal"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English anda (“anger, envy, zeal”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "anima",
      "anima#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "animus",
      "animus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*h₂enh₁-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂enh₁-"
    ],
    [
      "animus",
      "animus"
    ],
    [
      "ἄνεμος",
      "ἄνεμος#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "anda",
      "anda#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "onde",
      "onde#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The soul or animating principle of a living thing, especially as contrasted with the animus.",
        "The inner self (not the external persona) of a person that is in touch with the unconscious as opposed to the persona.",
        "The unconscious feminine aspect of a person."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "d50531e583feaa79a8ac73a2431f4e2c43e2d40212752cee8adc1322c6cfcbc5",
      "rawRecordSha256": "ff1a781b2050ab0ae1e4f57a34c67c637a2bc75516d9a47bdfdc7ff0415fea42",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 193103
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for anima →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YW5pbWE