Etymograph

English

sprite

Sprite comes from Old French esprit ‘spirit’, from Latin spīritus ‘air, breath, breathing’, and perhaps ultimately from 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 CEspīritus2‘air, breath, breathing’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400esprit2‘spirit’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sprite2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1803sprite2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin spiritus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English sprite
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1803, William Blake: “He who torments the chafer's sprite Weaves a bower…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)peys-Wiktionary, Latin spiritus‘to breathe’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīrōWiktionary, Latin spiritus‘to breathe, draw breath, respire’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīritusWiktionary, English sprite‘air, breath, breathing’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400espritWiktionary, English sprite‘spirit’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spriteWiktionary, English sprite
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1803spriteWiktionary, English sprite. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1803, William Blake: “He who torments the chafer's sprite Weaves a bower…”

first attested (computer graphics): First used by Danny Hillis at Texas Instruments in the late 1970s (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

Linked words

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

spirituality, conspire, 48 more

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

conspiracy, spiritual, respiratory, expire, aspire, aspiration, spire, aspirant, spiritus, 49 more

through Latin spīritus ‘air, breath, breathing’

spirit, spree, esprit, 39 more

Today it means

noun Any of various supernatural beings, loosely defined: A spirit; a soul; a shade.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sprite”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin spiritus. 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- / sprite

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