Etymograph

English

spiritship

Spiritship comes from Middle English spirit ‘life, vital breath’, from Old French espirit ‘spirit’, 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 CEspīritus1‘air, breath, breathing’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400espirit1‘spirit’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spirit1‘life, vital breath’
  5. English1500–presentspirit1
  6. Englishtodayspiritship1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English spiritship

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīrōWiktionary, English spiritship‘to breathe, draw breath, respire’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīritusWiktionary, English spiritship‘air, breath, breathing’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400espiritWiktionary, English spiritship‘spirit’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spiritWiktionary, English spiritship‘life, vital breath’
  5. English1500–presentspiritWiktionary, English spiritship
  6. EnglishtodayspiritshipWiktionary, English spiritship

A compound of spirit + -ship

Latin spīrō ‘to breathe’

Latin spīritus ‘breath’

Old French espirit

Middle English spirit ‘life’

English spirit

Linked words

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

conspire, 50 more

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

conspiracy, respiratory, expire, aspire, aspiration, spire, aspirant, 50 more

through Latin spīritus ‘air, breath, breathing’

spree, spirituality, sprite, esprit, 38 more

Today it means

noun The state or condition of being a spirit.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “spiritship”. 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 / spiritship

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