Etymograph

English

spirituality

Spirituality comes from Latin spīritālis ‘of or pertaining to breathing, the wind or air’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)peys-1‘to breathe’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīrō1‘to breathe, draw breath, respire’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīritus1‘air, breath, breathing’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīritālis1‘of or pertaining to breathing, the wind or air’
  5. Late Latinmodernspīrituālitās1
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600spiritualité1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1614spirituality1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English spirituality
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh]: “If this light be not spiritual, yet it approacheth…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)peys-Wiktionary, English spirituality‘to breathe’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīrōWiktionary, English spirituality‘to breathe, draw breath, respire’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīritusWiktionary, English spirituality‘air, breath, breathing’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīritālisWiktionary, English spirituality‘of or pertaining to breathing, the wind or air’
  5. Late LatinmodernspīrituālitāsWiktionary, English spirituality
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600spiritualitéWiktionary, English spirituality
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1614spiritualityWiktionary, English spirituality. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh]: “If this light be not spiritual, yet it approacheth…”

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

noun The quality or state of being spiritual.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “spirituality”. 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 *(s)peys- / spirituality

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