English
animation
Animation comes from Latin animatiō ‘the act of animating or giving life to,…’, and goes back to animō.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanimō1‘to animate, quicken’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanimatiō1‘the act of animating or giving life to, animation’
- Englishearliest quotation 1647animation1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English animation
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1647, Joseph Hall, The Works of the Right Reverend Father in God: “[…] by the animation of the same soul quickening…”.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanimōWiktionary, English animation‘to animate, quicken’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanimatiōWiktionary, English animation‘the act of animating or giving life to, animation’
- Englishearliest quotation 1647animationWiktionary, English animation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1647, Joseph Hall, The Works of the Right Reverend Father in God: “[…] by the animation of the same soul quickening…”
A compound of anima ‘air, breath’ + animō ‘to fill with breath or air’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- ‘to breathe’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁mos ‘breath’
Proto-Italic *anamos ‘breath’
Latin animus ‘life, life force, soul, vitality’
Latin anima ‘air, breath’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- ‘to breathe’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁mos ‘breath’
Proto-Italic *anamos ‘breath’
Latin animus ‘life, life force, soul, vitality’
Latin anima ‘air, breath’
Latin animō ‘to fill with breath or air’
Linked words
through Latin animatiō ‘the act of animating or giving life to,…’
Today it means
noun The act of animating, or giving life or spirit.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “animation”. 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 / Latin animō / animation