Etymograph

English

spirity

Spirity comes from Old French espirit ‘spirit’, from Latin spīritus ‘air, breath, breathing’, and ultimately from spīrō.

  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. Englishtodayspirity1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English spirity

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

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

A compound of spirit + -y

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, 51 more

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

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

through Latin spīritus ‘air, breath, breathing’

spree, sprite, esprit, 39 more

Today it means

adj Full of spirit; spirited.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “spirity”. 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 / spirity

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