Etymograph

English

animality

Animality comes from Latin anima ‘life, ghost’, from Proto-Italic *anamos ‘breath’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂enh₁-1‘to breathe’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂enh₁mos1‘breath’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*anamos1‘breath’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanimus1‘life, life force, soul, vitality’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanima1‘life, ghost’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanimālis2
  7. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEanimālitās3
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentanimalité3uncertain
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2015animality3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin animalis
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin animalitas
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English animality
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2015, J. M. Bernstein, Torture and Dignity: An Essay on Moral Injury: “For good reason military leaders attempt to instill in…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂enh₁-Wiktionary, Latin animalis‘to breathe’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂enh₁mosWiktionary, Latin animalis‘breath’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*anamosWiktionary, Latin animalis‘breath’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanimusWiktionary, Latin animalis‘life, life force, soul, vitality’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanimaWiktionary, Latin animalis‘life, ghost’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanimālisWiktionary, Latin animalitas
  7. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEanimālitāsWiktionary, English animality
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentanimalitéWiktionary, English animalityuncertain
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2015animalityWiktionary, English animality. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2015, J. M. Bernstein, Torture and Dignity: An Essay on Moral Injury: “For good reason military leaders attempt to instill in…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- ‘to breathe’

and, asthma, inhale, exhalation, prana, onde, 20 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁mos ‘breath’

anemone, 13 more

through Proto-Italic *anamos ‘breath’

unanimously, 12 more

through Latin animus ‘life, life force, soul, vitality’

unanimous, animosity, animus, 13 more

through Latin anima ‘life, ghost’

anime, animism, 9 more

Today it means

noun The nature of an animal.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “animality”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin animalis, Latin animalitas. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- / animality

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