Etymograph

English

animatrice

Animatrice comes from French animatrice ‘female equivalent of animateur’, from Latin animō ‘to fill with breath or air’, 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‘air, breath’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanimō2as animāre‘to fill with breath or air’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentanimer3‘to animate’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentanimatrice4‘female equivalent of animateur’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1977animatrice4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin animo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French animer
  3. 3 Wiktionary, French animatrice
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English animatrice
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1977, David A. Mitchnik, Training of animatrices and village leaders: “Much has been done in recent years to teach…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂enh₁-Wiktionary, Latin animo‘to breathe’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂enh₁mosWiktionary, Latin animo‘breath’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*anamosWiktionary, Latin animo‘breath’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanimusWiktionary, Latin animo‘life, life force, soul, vitality’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanimaWiktionary, Latin animo‘air, breath’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanimōWiktionary, French animeras animāre‘to fill with breath or air’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentanimerWiktionary, French animatrice‘to animate’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentanimatriceWiktionary, English animatrice‘female equivalent of animateur’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1977animatriceWiktionary, English animatrice. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1977, David A. Mitchnik, Training of animatrices and village leaders: “Much has been done in recent years to teach…”

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 ‘air, breath’

animism, 9 more

through French animer ‘to animate’

anime, 1 more

Today it means

noun A woman who is trained to teach skills and lead activities for her peers.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “animatrice”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin animo, French animer, French animatrice. 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- / animatrice

Shirt and support for this word