Etymograph

English

spiritual

Spiritual comes from Middle English spiritual, from Old French spirituel, from Late Latin spīrituālis, from Latin spīritus ‘breath, spirit’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīritus1‘breath, spirit’
  2. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEspīrituālis1
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400spirituel1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spiritual1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611spiritual1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English spiritual
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Brethren, if a man bee ouertaken in a fault:…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīritusWiktionary, English spiritual‘breath, spirit’
  2. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEspīrituālisWiktionary, English spiritual
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400spirituelWiktionary, English spiritual
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spiritualWiktionary, English spiritual
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611spiritualWiktionary, English spiritual. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Brethren, if a man bee ouertaken in a fault:…”

Linked words

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

conspire, 51 more

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

conspiracy, respiratory, expire, aspire, aspiration, spire, aspirant, 51 more

through Latin spīritus ‘air, breath, breathing’

spree, sprite, esprit, 39 more

Today it means

adj Of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “spiritual”. 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 spīritus / spiritual

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