Etymograph

English

esprit

Esprit comes from French esprit ‘spirit’, from Middle French esperit ‘mind’, and ultimately from Latin spīrō ‘to breathe, draw breath, respire’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīrō1‘to breathe, draw breath, respire’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspiritus2‘air, breath, breathing’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600esperit2‘mind’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentesprit3‘spirit’
  5. Englishtodayesprit3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin spiritus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French esprit
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English esprit

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīrōWiktionary, Latin spiritus‘to breathe, draw breath, respire’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspiritusWiktionary, French esprit‘air, breath, breathing’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600esperitWiktionary, French esprit‘mind’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentespritWiktionary, English esprit‘spirit’
  5. EnglishtodayespritWiktionary, English esprit

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- ‘to breathe’

spirituality, conspire, 48 more

through Latin spīrō ‘to breathe, draw breath, respire’

conspiracy, spiritual, expire, respiratory, aspire, aspiration, spire, aspirant, spiritus, 49 more

through Latin spiritus ‘air, breath, breathing’

spirit, sprite, 39 more

through French esprit ‘spirit’

spree

Today it means

noun Spirit, enthusiasm.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “esprit”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin spiritus, French esprit. 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 spīrō / esprit

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