Etymograph

English

spiritsome

Spiritsome 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. Englishearliest quotation 1876spiritsome1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English spiritsome
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1876, Adeline Dutton Train Whitney: “They kept rising upon us like that, all day;…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīrōWiktionary, English spiritsome‘to breathe, draw breath, respire’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīritusWiktionary, English spiritsome‘air, breath, breathing’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400espiritWiktionary, English spiritsome‘spirit’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spiritWiktionary, English spiritsome‘life, vital breath’
  5. English1500–presentspiritWiktionary, English spiritsome
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1876spiritsomeWiktionary, English spiritsome. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1876, Adeline Dutton Train Whitney: “They kept rising upon us like that, all day;…”

A compound of spirit + -some

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

adj Characteristic of or possessing the qualities of a spirit; spiritlike.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “spiritsome”. 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 / spiritsome