| 释义 |
spiritn. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French espirit, spirit; Latin spīritus. Etymology: < (i) Anglo-Norman esperite, espirite, espirith, (rare) spirit, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French esperit, espirit (Anglo-Norman and Middle French, French esprit ) animating or vital principle, wind, breath, air, action of breathing, divine inspiration, consciousness, emotion, the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity (all early 12th cent.), intelligence (mid 12th cent.), imaginary being, fairy (mid 12th cent.), incorporeal or immaterial being, soul of a dead person, ghost, demon (all late 12th cent.), angel (13th cent.), mind as opposed to body (late 13th cent. in Anglo-Norman, late 14th cent. in continental French), volatile substance (early 14th cent. or earlier), one or other of four substances so named by medieval alchemists (1354), rarefied substance believed to be carried in the blood (1370), disposition of a person, intention, emotional state (late 14th cent.), deeper meaning of a text (late 14th cent.; rare before 1547), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin spīritus (u -stem) action of breathing, respiration, breath, (final) breath, (in grammar) aspiration, air, life, consciousness, soul, vital principle animating the world, divine inspiration, essential quality, nature, disposition, ardent disposition, enthusiasm, vigour, arrogance, pride, wind, breeze, wind in the stomach or bowels, scent, perfume, odour, in post-classical Latin also the Holy Spirit, evil spirit, demon (Vetus Latina), soul of a dead person, ghost, angel, incorporeal or immaterial being, courage, tendency, inclination, emotional part of a person as the seat of hostile or angry feeling (Vulgate), intelligence (5th cent.), (in plural) morale (12th cent. in a British source), one or other of four substances so named by medieval alchemists (13th cent. in British sources), liquid produced by distillation (13th cent. in a British source), (in spiritus vitae , literally ‘spirit of life’) mercury (15th cent. in a British source) < the stem of spīrāre to breathe (see spire v.2) + -tus , suffix forming verbal nouns. Compare spirt n.1, sprite n., earlier spiritus n. and also (as a later reborrowing < French) esprit n.Compare Catalan esperit (12th cent.), Old Occitan esperit , Spanish espíritu , Portuguese espirito , Italian spirito (all 13th cent.), and also (all < Latin, and now chiefly in sense 23) German Spiritus (mid 15th cent., in early use often with Latin inflectional endings; > Danish spiritus (c1700)), Swedish spiritus (1642). Specific forms. The (rare) β. and δ. forms preserve the prosthetic e of the French etymon, which was lost in the α. and γ. forms (the French variant spirit is rare and only attested in Anglo-Norman). The γ. and δ. forms show lowering of i to e . Specific senses. In early use this word chiefly occurs in theological and philosophical contexts, and largely reflects the range of senses of classical Latin spīritus in the Vulgate, where it translates ancient Greek πνεῦμα pneuma n. and Hebrew rūăḥ (see ruach n.). The translation of these words by spirit is common to all versions of the Bible from the Wycliffite Bible onwards. The senses ‘liquid produced by distillation’ and ‘ideas and values held by a group of people collectively’ are first attested later in French than in English (respectively, 1575 and 1656). I. An animating or vital principle; the immaterial or sentient element of a person. * An animating or vital principle; the soul; incorporeal or immaterial being. 1. the world > life > source or principle of life > vital principle > [noun] a1325 (c1250) (1968) l. 203 God made Adam, And his licham of erðe he nam, And blew ðor-in a liues blast,..A spirit ful of wit and sckil. 1340 (1866) 92 Þet body of man is..þe vileste þet is, and þe spirit of man is þe zaule, and ys þe nobleste þing an þe heȝeste ssepþe þet may by. a1382 (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Eccles. iii. 21 Who kneȝ, if the spirit [L. spiritus] of the sonus of Adam steȝe vp aboue, and if the spirit [L. spiritus] of bestis go doun bynethe? c1484 (a1475) J. de Caritate tr. (Takamiya) (1977) 137 (MED) God..rypyth þe frutys of treis, and þe spyrytis alle of lyuyng thyngis be qwekynnyd. 1582 James ii. 26 For euen as the bodie without the spirit is dead: so also faith without workes is dead. 1611 Eccles. x. 4 The spirit when it is gone foorth returneth not; neither the soule receiued vp, commeth againe. View more context for this quotation 1667 J. Milton x. 784 Least that pure breath of Life, the Spirit of Man.., cannot together perish With this corporeal Clod. View more context for this quotation 1728 E. Chambers at Person Thus, a Man, tho' consisting of two very different Things, viz. Body and Spirit, is not two Persons. 1853 W. Thomson (ed. 3) 61 When the breath is exhaled the spirit remains immortal. 1996 C. Quigley i. 10 This direct confrontation with the meat that remains after the spirit is gone. a1382 (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Judith xiii. 30 Achior..fel in to his face vpon the erthe, and his lif quappide. After forsothe that, the spirit [L. spiritu] taken aȝeen, he is reformed. c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xxiii. 46 And he seyinge thes thingis, sente out the spirit [a1425 L.V. ȝaf vp the goost; L. exspiravit], ether diede. c1400 (?a1300) (Laud) (1952) l. 4638 (MED) ‘Ne may Ich lenger libbe’..And wiþ þat word þe spirit out went. c1425 tr. J. Arderne (Sloane 277) (1910) 38 Neþerlesse þai may..moue almost to þe breþing out of þe spirit. 1510 A. Chertsey tr. (de Worde) ii. cxxii. f. cclvv/2 And in thende she deyed so, & before yt she was buryed her spyryte came agayne vnto her body. 1582 C. Carlile f. 167v There was an Egiptian..vnto whom Dauids souldiours gaue meat & drinke, & his spirite returned into him againe. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. xvi. 50 Now my Spirit is going, I can no more. View more context for this quotation 1690 C. Ness I. xv. 405 Then his Spirit return'd to his Heart after a sad Recoil, and he recovers out of his sudden Consternation. a1827 W. Blake Vala; or, Four Zoas vii, in (1978) II. 350 Now she was pale as Snow... But when her spirit returnd as ruddy as a morning..Sorrow shot thro him from his feet. 1839 H. F. Gould III. 133 She died, as dawned her natal day! Amid the buds and flowers of May Her spirit left the beauteous clay, In death's deep slumber here. ?1850 J. L. Michael xiv. 107 With pain the spirit came back to the flesh, Shaking its feeble house. 1990 14 Dec. 10 a/2 ‘He said that he had died twice and that his spirit left him and returned,’ said Barrios. c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) John vi. 64 The wordis that I haue spokun to ȝou, ben spirit [L. spiritus] and lyf. 1556 J. Olde tr. R. Gwalther iii. f. 112 You knowlage your selues to be a churche feble & sickly, that hathe no whitte of the spirite of life in it at all. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. i. 109 There is no malice in this burning cole, The breath of heauen, hath blowne his spirit out. View more context for this quotation 1638 F. Junius iii. i. 229 Seeing..that nothing marreth the life and spirit of the invented things so much, as to force and strain them to a fore-determined purpose. 1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville 201 Water-Works are the Life of a Garden; 'tis these..which animate and invigorate it, and, if I may so say, give it new Life and Spirit. 1720 A. Pope tr. Homer V. xviii. 120 Let me revenge it on proud Hector's Heart, Let his last Spirit smoak upon my Dart. 1812 Feb. 128 She lost no opportunity of enjoying the means of grace; and..found them on most occasions, to be spirit and life to her soul. 1924 23 371 Language..at that time reposed mightily on a declamation that has died out for us entirely, and that at that time had given it life and spirit. 2006 R. Bishop & M. Berryman vii. 274 Ideas are given life and spirit through dialogue, debate, and careful consideration. 2. society > faith > aspects of faith > spirituality > soul > [noun] c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xxiii. 46 Fadir, in to thi hondis I bitake my spirit [L. spiritum]. a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng (Harl.) l. 1377 (MED) Hys spyryt was take to see a cas..hys frendys..wende þat he hadde be dede bodely, But sone..Þe body quaked. ?a1425 (Egerton) (1889) 61 In spirit he was rauischt intill heuen, whare he sawe heuenly priuetez. c1480 (a1400) St. Peter 730 in W. M. Metcalfe (1896) I. 28 And þis he ȝalde þe spyrit, of god in-to þe halde. 1582 Acts vii. 59 They stoned Steuen..saying: Lord Iesus, receiue my spirit. 1611 Luke xxiii. 46 Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit . View more context for this quotation 1701 in J. Dunton 100 The will of the Lord be done, into whose Hands I commend my Spirit. 1756 68/2 Th' immortal Spirit left her Body here; Now blessed with God. 1825 W. Scott Betrothed Concl., in II. 338 If you came to announce the doom of this poor frame, may God be gracious to the spirit which must be violently dismissed from it! 1872 J. J. Piatt 160 A Mother and a Child, most blesséd sight, My spirit saw—a pure and holy pair. 1920 L. Binyon i. 13 I touched the flesh of my body, and it was strange. It seemed that my spirit knew It was I no more; yet the earth and the sky answered And cried aloud, It is you! 1996 J. Harjo 6 The woman who was to fall from the sky was the girl with skinned knees whose spirit knew how to climb to the stars. the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > [noun] > spirit of deceased person c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xxiv. 37 Thei..gessiden hem to se a spirit [L. spiritum]. And he seide to hem... Feele ȝe, and se ȝe; for a spirit [L. spiritus] hath not fleisch, and boonys. a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville (Vitell.) l. 11960 To the body a spyryt spak,..The spyryt in the weye stood; The body..hong on a tre. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour (St. John's Cambr.) iv. 757 [The Pithones] Rasit, throu thair mekill mycht Samuell sperit. 1526 W. Bonde i. sig. Bviii Al the holy sayntes that ben saued, and also the damned spirites in hell. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane f. cxv There by a signe made, he sheweth that he is the spirite of her. 1611 Heb. xii. 23 To the generall assembly,..and to the spirits of iust men made perfect. View more context for this quotation 1645 J. Milton Il Penseroso in 40 Where I may..unsphear The spirit of Plato. 1742 E. Young 15 The Spirit walks of ev'ry Day deceas'd. a1771 T. Gray Agrippina in (1775) 128 'Twould dash his joy To hear the spirit of Britannicus Yet walks on earth. 1819 P. B. Shelley iv. i. 60 Her spirit shall approach the throne of God Plague spotted with my curses. 1840 T. Hood Open Question in Aug. 530 Spirit of Kant! have we not had enough To make Religion sad, and sour, and snubbish. 1931 P. S. Buck xxvi. 244 After I am dead that one nor her mistress neither is to come into my room or touch my things, and if they do, I will send my spirit back for a curse. 1994 S. P. Somtow (1995) i. 11 You must bring his body..and you and I will have a proper cremation. Otherwise his spirit will wander the earth, unable to be reborn into the cycle of karma. 2013 (National ed.) 28 Aug. c6/2 As the matriarch who sets her sights on using Vonn as a conduit to her dead lover's spirit, Ms. Lemp does not quite radiate the sinister vampirishness..that she should. the mind > mental capacity > spirituality > mind, soul, spirit, heart > [noun] c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) John iii. 6 That that is born of spirit [L. spiritu], is spirit [L. spiritus]. 1611 Isa. xxxi. 3 Now the Egyptians are men and not God, and their horses flesh and not spirit . View more context for this quotation 1690 J. Locke ii. xxiii. 142 The Ideas we have belonging, and peculiar to Spirit, are Thinking, and Will. 1726 I. Watts (ed. 2) i. ii. 23 Modes belong either to Body or to Spirit, or to both... Modes of Spirit belong only to Minds. 1832 D. Brewster ii. 10 The sentinel which guards the pass between the worlds of matter and of spirit. 1911 W. McDougall v. 67 Berkeley..rejected altogether the ‘unknown somewhat’ that we call matter, while retaining the equally unknown somewhat that we call spirit. 2006 24 Dec. c5/5 Incarnationally, we are always linking heaven and earth, eternity and time, body and soul, spirit to matter. ** The animating intelligence or sentient element of a person, and related senses. 4. The animating intelligence or sentient element or aspect of a person, as the seat of action, reason, and feeling, and as the source of desire; the will. Not always clearly distinguishable from sense 2a. Frequently in expressed or implied contrast with the body; cf. body n. 1c. 1340 (1866) 241 Huo þet is poure of spirit, þet is of wylle, He ne zekþ..ne richesses. a1382 (Bodl. 959) (1969) Isa. lxvi. 2 To whom forsoþe shal I beholden, no but to þe porelet & contrit in spirit [L. spiritu]. c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Cor. vii. 34 And a..mayden thenkith what thingis ben of the Lord, that sche be hooly in body and spirit [L. spiritu]. c1475 (a1449) J. Lydgate (1934) ii. 664 This rose of Iericho,..Pore in spirit, parfit in pacyence. 1543 G. Joye f. xviv To mortifye his owne affectes and to set naught by himself, to abnegate and renownce his estimacion and glorye, to be renewed in spirit and to folow christe mekely to dethe. 1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda lxx. f. 143 The Captaine Generall was inwardly moued in spirit. 1665 S. Patrick xix. 186 Losing more time by these dejections of spirit. 1704 III. xvi. 516 The poor Man had not Spirit enough to discern what was best for him. 1779 No. 10 Mr. Fleetwood felt an unusual elevation of spirit. 1857 W. M. Thackeray (1858) I. vi. 49 Saddened and humbled in spirit, the young officer presented himself after a while to his old friends. 1926 Sept. 26/2 An experienced swimming coach lays the recent athletic achievements of women to their new freedom of dress.., but he gives even more importance to their new freedom of spirit and their complete lack of fear. 1941 P. Hamilton 159 She had not the fanatical anguished social snobbery and aspirations of Peter, but she was all the same, and on the quiet, at one with him in spirit. 2002 Sept. 72/2 Going after 200- to 300-pound tuna in deep water is not for the timid in spirit. a1382 (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Psalms l. 19 Sacrifise to God, [is] a spiritt [L. spiritus] holly trublid. c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1905 Nat may the woful spirit in myn herte Declare a point of alle my sorwes smerte. c1440 (a1400) (Thornton) l. 254 The holy goste, That enspyres alle sperites..to come to that blysse. 1551 Luke i. f. xxxv/1 My spirite reioyseth in god my sauiour. 1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay iii. i. f. 69v They doe teach them to learne some art or occupation, according to the capacitie of their spirit. 1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta ii. iv. 88 As well in the fruites of the earth, as in the bodies and spirits of men. c1665 L. Hutchinson Life in (1973) 280 But these low things bounded not their greate spiritts. 1743 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace (new ed.) I. ii. iii. 191 Should Fortune frown, live Thou serene, Nor let your Spirit rise too high. 1789 W. Cowper 65 That cordial thought her spirit cheer'd. 1827 H. Hallam I. iii. 174 They stood the trial of their spirits without swerving from their allegiance. 1872 J. Morley i. 7 Many new things, after which the spirits of others were unconsciously groping and dumbly yearning. 1961 N. Roy (1989) ii. 52 I am getting near the time when my spirit craves new lands and old faces. 2005 (National ed.) 5 June viii. 8/4 The laid-back nature is conducive to my spirit. It fits me as a person. a1382 (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Baruch iii. 1 The soule in anguysshes, and the spirit [L. spiritus] tormentid crieth to thee. c1450 tr. (Royal) 24 Whan the spirit hath take refeccioun in good odoures. a1500 (?a1450) (Harl. 7333) (1879) 4 Þi flesch, þat dispisith all werkis that þe spirite lovith. a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis (Trin. Dublin) (1893) ii. viii. 48 Blesful is þat man whom..he calliþ fro teres to þe ioy of þe spirit. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane f. lv Luther..hath offended in..not teaching those thinges, that are of the spirite. 1614 C. Brooke ii. xxxviii. sig. E4 As the Catholick Spirit in Man applyes Each Sence and Organ, to their proper Ends. 1665 R. Howard Committee iii, in 99 Saffron-posset-drink is very good against The heaviness of the Spirit. 1782 W. Cowper Hope in 156 Hopes..That cannot..cheer the spirit, nor refresh the sight. 1850 Ld. Tennyson xli. 64 Delights..That stir the spirit's inner deeps. 1984 E. de Waal ii. 31 St Benedict was not concerned to stifle the spirit with over-legislating. 2001 I. Sinclair (2002) i. ii. 17 Twelve months in Shepherd's Bush,..beavering anonymously for the BBC, on left-field projects that will never see the light of day, permanently disables the spirit. the mind > emotion > anger > [noun] > seat of anger > emotional part of man as a1382 (Douce 370) (1850) 2 Chron. xxi. 16 Thanne the Lord rerede aȝeinus Joram the spirite [L. spiritum] of Philisteis, and of Arabes. 1611 Ecclus. x. 4 If the spirit of the ruler rise vp against thee, leaue not thy place. View more context for this quotation 1682 J. Bunyan 81 Their continuing in their Rebellion did but chafe, and heat the spirit of the Captains. a1715 Bp. G. Burnet (1724) I. 269 The carelessness and luxury of the Court came to be so much exposed, that the King's spirit was much sharpened upon it. 1775 J. Ash Animoseness, heat, spirit, vehemence of temper. 6. the mind > emotion > courage > spirit > [noun] the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [noun] > mental or moral vigour a1382 (Bodl. 959) (1961) Josh. v. 1 Þe herte of hem ys vnboundyn, & þer abood not in hem spirit [L. spiritus] of hem dredynge þe entre of þe sonys of Irael. c1400 tr. Aelred of Rievaulx (Vernon) (1984) 50 (MED) O blessyde Marie, what herte haddest þu, what spirit, what strenkþe whanne þu vylle adoun..to-fore Crist. c1540 J. Bellenden tr. H. Boece iii. xiv. f. xxxv/2 Seing Caratak of sa inuinsabyl sperit. 1598 W. Shakespeare iv. i. 102 All furnisht al in Armes..As ful of spirit as the month of May. View more context for this quotation 1620 tr. G. Boccaccio II. f. 81 She began the quarrell first: and what I do is but to right my wrong, as any other woman of spirit would do. 1749 H. Fielding II. iv. viii. 50 Molly had too much Spirit to bear this Treatment tamely. View more context for this quotation 1780 No. 102 Youths entering on the stage of life are catched with the engaging appellation, ‘a man of spirit’. 1809 Ld. Byron (ed. 2) Postscr. 84 ‘The age of chivalry is over’, or, in the vulgar tongue, there is no spirit now-a-days. 1890 ‘L. Falconer’ i. 33 She consoled herself by describing what other people called disobedience as spirit. 1911 H. S. Harrison xxiii. 291 That suspicionful scrutiny so galling to men of spirit. 1986 D. Caute i. v. 59 I think your mother's a woman of great spirit. 2013 (National ed.) 7 Mar. e12/4 There are these misconceptions and generalizations that don't fit this person who is full of spirit and down-to-earthiness. 1570 J. Foxe (rev. ed.) II. xi. 1699/1 After that D. Taylour thus with great spirite and courage had aunswered for him selfe. 1593 G. Markham ii. sig. C.3v Then may you well aduenture to trotte him [sc. your horse] in the same, making him doo it with spirite and nimblenes. 1600 W. Shakespeare ii. vi. 13 All things that are are with more spirit chased then enioyd. 1668 P. Rycaut (new ed.) ii. xvi. 144 They have..license from their Superiour, to be drunk.., to be better able to perform with more spirit and vehemency their mad Dance. a1715 Bp. G. Burnet (1724) I. 349 If the King would have acted with the spirit that he sometimes put on, they might have carried their business. 1799 Ld. Nelson Let. 7 June in (1846) VII. p. clxxxiv Don Jose..has on several occasions conducted himself with spirit. 1816 W. Scott Old Mortality iii, in 1st Ser. IV. 54 Ere Morton or Burley had reached the post to be defended, the enemy had commenced an attack upon it with great spirit. 1830 F. Marryat I. xiii. 193 The action was now maintained with spirit, but much to the disadvantage of the cutter. 1905 Mar. 81/1 ‘Baxter, some brandy and soda. Look sharp.’ ‘Yes, sir; thank you, sir,’ answered Baxter with spirit. 1961 May 82/3 The music is done with great spirit by Karajan and his colleagues. 2005 1 Feb. 30/5 Those gifted, alluring and exciting creatures..who fought with spirit and courage to overcome Puritan prejudices about women on the stage. 7. In plural. the mind > [noun] > as seat of action or feeling the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > seat of the emotions > [noun] > mind or faculties c1400 J. Wyclif On the Seven Deadly Sins (Bodl. 647) in (1871) III. 135 (MED) Þre harmes fallen of ire..movyng of spiritis lettis oft men to herberow þo Holy Gost, þat lufs reste in soule. c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 511 So feble eek were his spiritz and so lowe..þt no man koude knowe His speche nor his voys. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour (St. John's Cambr.) vi. 223 He..sumdeill affrayit wes; But in schort tym he till him tais His spiritis richt full hardely. 1548 f. xlix To visite his familie, and to recreate and refreshe his spirites (as he openly sayde). 1592 i. 1 Arden, cheere vp thy spirits and droup no more. 1608 G. Chapman v. i. 133 For we shall never brag That we have made his spirits check at death. 1675 E. Cocker 53 Sleep..Revivifies the Brain, the Spirits chears. 1719 D. Defoe 232 Dangers, the Sight of which, if discover'd to him, would..sink his Spirits. 1769 S. Gunning III. xxi. 43 I found Mr. Edward Abington in his library.., seemingly in poor spirits. 1819 W. Irving i. 51 She seems in better spirits than I have ever known her. 1845 J. Coulter xi. 135 It is one of the means of keeping up the spirits of the men on long voyages. 1907 ‘N. Blanchan’ ii. 19 That ‘little scrap of valour’, the chickadee, keeps his spirits high until ours cannot but be cheered. 1918 D. Haig Diary 10 Oct. in (2005) 472 I found Foch in very good spirits and highly complimentary at what British Army had done. 1977 10 Feb. 169/3 Lenin and his wife..were not above a little whistling in the dark to keep up their spirits. 2008 P. Hensher 122 They were alone in the restaurant, but it would do to perk up the spirits. the mind > emotion > pleasure > cheerfulness > [noun] > cheerful liveliness 1716 Lady M. W. Montagu 16 Aug. (1965) I. 253 I found my selfe perfectly recover'd and have had Spirits enough to go see all that is curious in the Town. 1780 No. 81 I lost all my former spirits, as well as my former bloom. 1803 9 211 Loss of appetite and spirits, succeeded with thirst. 1852 H. B. Stowe II. xxiii. 71 The horse would roll when he was bringing him up from the stable; he 's so full of spirits. 1917 P. Gibbs 265 The long trails of the walking wounded, marvellously brave, wonderfully full of spirits. 1986 D. Davis tr. N. Ginzburg (1989) 159 Old, loyal friends who'll help her to regain her former spirits. †8. In plural. the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > [noun] the mind > mental capacity > intellect > [noun] > intellectual powers c1450 (1905) II. 448 (MED) He fell down in swownyng..when he come vnto his spyrittis agayn he went furth. 1526 W. Bonde ii. sig. Piiii That..thou gather to the thy spirites and be..quyete. 1598 F. Meres tr. Luis de Granada lviii. 551 Neither can he recollect his spirits,..that in prayer hee may..fixe his minde vpon God. 1647 J. Howell 233 Truly the more I scrue up my spirits to reach it, the more I am swallowed in a gulf of admiration. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals iv, in tr. Virgil 19 To sing thy Praise, wou'd Heav'n my breath prolong, Infusing Spirits worthy such a Song. the mind > mental capacity > disposition or character > [noun] 1604 W. Shakespeare iii. ii. 56 For what aduancement may I hope from thee That no reuenew hast but thy good spirits To feede and clothe thee. View more context for this quotation 9. The quality of being lively or animated; vivacity. the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [noun] > vigour or liveliness > in things 1588 T. Kyd tr. T. Tasso f. 20v The small wynes, and those of little spirite that quickly lose theyr strength. 1780 R. B. Sheridan iii. iii. 35 Spa water..has all the pertness of Champaigne, without its spirit. 1874 H. H. Cole App. 281 The action and modelling of the conventional griffin has some spirit about it. 1929 Nov. 548/1 Not that the city of Cleveland lacked spirit. 2001 S. Barnett tr. F. von Schlegel 58 A poem of perfect style and faultless accuracy but without spirit and life would amount only to an exiguity of no value. the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [noun] > vigour or liveliness the mind > emotion > excitement > excitability of temperament > spiritedness or liveliness > [noun] 1651 W. Garrett 25 Yea, he often preached..with much spirit, and unexpected vivacity, as a mighty man refreshed with the wine of the Spirit of God. 1691 J. Evelyn (1955) V. 68 An honest discourse, but pronounced, or rather read, without any Spirit or seeming concerne. 1753 T. Gray Long Story in 16 Arm'd with spirit, wit, and satire. 1867 J. Ruskin v. 26 She danced her joyful dance with perfect grace, spirit, sweetness, and self-forgetfulness. 1927 14 June 12/6 The performance..was as full of spirit and élan as the delightful ‘snippets’ that help to make this ballet perhaps the most exhilarating thing in the whole of M. Diaghileff's repertory. 2016 (Nexis) 18 Mar. Her love, spirit, liveliness, energy, thoughtfulness, and determination were legendary to those who knew her. II. An incorporeal, supernatural, rational being, and extended uses. 10. the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > [noun] the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > ghost or phantom > [noun] the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > fairy or elf > [noun] c1350 (Harl. 874) (1961) 198 (MED) Þe lorde god of spirites sent his aungel to þe prophetes. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden (St. John's Cambr.) (1871) III. 279 We haveþ i-lerned of Socrates, þat was alway tendaunt to a spirit [L. divino] þat was i-cleped demon. a1400 (a1325) (Trin. Cambr.) l. 170 (MED) Iesu..Was temptide with þe spirit of wronge. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng (Petyt) (1996) i. l. 7958 We fynd writen..of suilk a maner of spirites, bituex þe moyne & þe erth won. 1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry (1971) lxii. 88 His wyf..sayd it was the fende or elles the goblyn or somme spyryte. a1550 in R. Dyboski (1908) 69 Þe sperytis infernall, all þe hole rowte. 1590 E. Digby 196 Gabriell the spirit of the Moone..begun his dominion ouer the world, the yeare of our Saviour his incarnation 1525. 1611 1 Tim. iv. 1 Giuing heed to seducing spirits . View more context for this quotation 1667 J. Milton i. 423 For Spirits when they please Can either Sex assume, or both. View more context for this quotation 1710 Ld. Shaftesbury 16 We have each of us a Demon, Genius, Angel, or Guardian-Spirit. 1791 N. Tucker tr. E. Swedenborg II. xiv. §655 To whom the draconic spirit addressed the same words. 1800 W. Wordsworth in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge II. 135 With gentle hand Touch,—for there is a Spirit in the woods. 1849 R. Browning (new ed.) 192 As if God bade some spirit plague a world. 1900 11 328 ‘But there are so many tigers; are you not afraid?’ I asked. ‘No,’ said he, ‘I am a retainer of the mountain-spirit,..and so am safe.’ 1984 D. Cupitt ii. 37 Almost any event that is not caused by men or animals, but which is important or unexpected or awesome, is seen as caused by a spirit. 2002 N. Drury 173/1 Kobold, in German folk-belief, a gnome or spirit that haunts houses or underground mines. the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > evil spirit or demon > [noun] > familiar or possessing spirit c1350 (Harl. 874) (1961) 130 (MED) Out of þe fals prophetes mouþes foule spirites comen as it were frosshes for þai ben spirites doande wondres. c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. viii. 16 Thei brouȝte to hym many hauynge deuelys, and he castide out spiritis [L. spiritus] by word. 1546 T. Langley tr. P. Vergil i. xviii. f. xxxviiii To banish the spirit out of ye Demoniake. 1579 T. North tr. Plutarch 360 An oracle..whose spirit possessed many inhabitants thereabouts, and bestraught them of their wittes. 1601 J. Deacon & J. Walker 238 The silly beholders..are easily brought to intertaine for infallible truth, that the partie is (in deed) essentiallie possessed with some Spirit or Diuell. 1651 T. Hobbes i. viii. 38 Whosoever behaved himselfe in extraordinory manner, was thought by the Jewes to be possessed either with a good, or evill spirit. 1728 E. Chambers at Demoniac A Person possess'd with a Spirit, or Demon. 1843 W. Scott iv. 320 It does not appear..that the Pythian priestess was ever..possessed by a spirit. 1884 M. A. Martin ii. 35 He..told us that an Atua Maori,—that is to say, a man who professes to be possessed by a spirit,—had been disturbing the neighbourhood. 1937 48 210 A ceremonial red-ochred wig used by persons suffering from so-called ‘possession’ by a spirit or spirits. 1972 T. Keneally (1978) iv. 24 Jimmie seemed taken over by a bad spirit, lassitude and submission he could not account for. 2008 June 63/2 Zar, in which some Middle Easterners and North Africans are possessed by a spirit. the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > immateriality > [noun] > immaterial or incorporeal thing > immaterial things c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) John iv. 24 God is a spirit. c1400 (?a1384) J. Wyclif (1871) III. 502 (MED) Hit is heresye to trowe þat Crist is a spiryt and no body. a1425 (a1400) (Galba & Harl.) (1863) l. 3022 Bot now may som..aske how þe saul may fele payne, Þat es noght elles bot a spirit. 1526 W. Bonde iii. sig. LLLi God..is a spirit: and they that be his true worshyppers, muste worshyp hym in spirit. 1645 A. Ross 121 As the soule is a spirit, so her sufferings are spirituall: all suffering supposeth not corruptibilitie, except it be caused by the prime elementary qualities, of which the soule is not capable. a1653 H. Binning (1735) 9/1 Angels and Men next God, are Spirits, as He is a Spirit. 1710 G. Berkeley §6 In my Mind or in that of any other Created Spirit..or..in the Mind of some Eternal Spirit. 1791 W. Enfield II. iv. iii. 217 The chief heads of the Cabbalistic Doctrine are these... The Being from whom all things proceed is a Spirit, uncreated, eternal,..existing by the necessity of its nature. 1853 Rep. Ludhiana Christian Mission in S. H. Singh (1983) 212 They are called Nirankaris, from their belief in god, as a spirit without bodily form. 1874 J. Parker i. i. 9 Man has a body, but he is a spirit. 1919 53 339 The reasonableness of faith in a God who is a spirit. 1996 R. Moss vi. 177 Living people are spirits that have bodies. 11. A person or animal likened in some way to a supernatural being. the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > kidnapper or abductor > [noun] 1611 T. Middleton & T. Dekker iii. iii. sig. G4 Adam. Who comes yonder..? Alex. I know 'em, they are officers, sir wee'l leaue you. S. Dauy. My good knights. Leaue me, you see I'me haunted now with spirits. 1645 in J. C. Jeaffreson (1888) III. 181 Assaulting and pumping of Margarett Emmerson upon the false report of a spiritt or an inticer or inveagler of children from their parentes. 1649 W. Bullock ii. 14 The usuall way of getting servants, hath been by a sort of men nick-named Spirits, who take up all the idle, lazie, simple people they can intice, such as have professed idlenesse, and will rather beg then work; who are perswaded by these Spirits, they shall goe into a place where food shall drop into their mouthes. 1690 J. Child x. 170 A sort of loose vagrant People..which Merchants and Masters of Ships by their Agents (or Spirits, as they were called) gathered up about the Streets of London, and other places. 2007 D. Jordan viii. 135 In 1680, a spirit named Ann Servant was tried before Middlesex Assizes for assaulting a young woman called Alice Flax and putting her on board a ship that took her to Virginia. society > communication > printing > printer > [noun] > remover of printed sheets 1683 J. Moxon II. Dict. 373 The Press-man sometimes has a Week-Boy to Take Sheets, as they are Printed off the Tympan. These Boys do..black and Dawb themselves; whence the Workmen do Jocosely call them Devils; and sometimes Spirits, and sometimes Flies. the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > subfamily Merginae (duck) > [noun] > member of genus Anas (miscellaneous) 1747 G. Edwards II. 100 He says it was brought from Newfoundland in America, where the Seamen call it a Spirit, but for what Cause I know not. I conjecture it to be a very sudden Diver, and it may perhaps as suddenly appear again in a distant Part of the Sea. 1785 T. Pennant II. ii. 558 Called sometimes the Spirit, as is supposed, from its suddenly appearing again at a distance, after diving. 1897 M. Chamberlain (rev. ed.) II. 347 This very elegant little duck [sc. Charitonetta albeola].., to which the aborigines have given the name of Spirit, or Conjurer, from the impunity with which it usually escapes at the flash of the gun or the twang of the bow. 1825 Lady West Jrnl. 28 Apr. in F. D. Drewitt (1907) x. 176 I shall gain the character here of a ‘spirit’,..having met several times at his house ladies of spotted reputation, and who are not visited by any one. III. Breath, and related senses. 12. the world > life > the body > respiratory organs > breathing > [noun] c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring (1891) xxxii. 6 (MED) Þe heuens ben fastened þurwe þe worde of our Lord, and alle her uertue is of spiriȝt of ys mouþe. c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Thess. ii. 8 The ilke wickid man..whom the Lord Jhesu schal sle with the spirit [L. spiritu] of his mouth. 1481 tr. Cicero (Caxton) sig. c8v Their wisedom ascendid in encreacyng & contynued vnto the laste spirite of their lyues. 1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine f. cxxix/2 For all her body bycam cold And she felte that her spirite helde her in her brest. 1565 W. Allen ii. vii. f. 181 Any mannes finall continuance in sin or wickednes: vpon whom in the laste spirite of breathe..so mannes praiers then shall be bothe needefull, and exceding beneficiall vnto him. 1581 J. Marbeck 55 Him shall God destroie with ye spirit of his mouth. 1678 N. Wanley iii. xliv. §15. 226/1 For as much as the force of the words was sharp and that there was a succession of Spirits. 1758 T. Francklin tr. Sophocles Antigone v. i, in tr. Sophocles II. 85 Whilst life remain'd, on the soft bosom hung Of the dear maid..his last spirit breath'd O'er her pale cheek. 1961 June 360/2 ‘Expired’..means literally ‘gave out his spirit (breath)’. the world > matter > gas > air > moving air > [noun] > a movement of air a1382 (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. viii. 1 Þe lord..brouȝte to a spyrit [a1425 L.V. wynd; L. spiritum] vpon þe erþ, and þe watris ben lassed. a1400 (St. John's Cambr.) (1891) 24 (MED) Reyn and dew blesse ȝe to the lord; alle spiritis [c1425 Cambr. wyndis] of god blesse ȝe to the lord. 1561 J. Daus tr. H. Bullinger li. 346 Fyre, brimestone, and spirite of tempeste. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny I. ii. lxxix. 37 Al the spirit and winde which should beare them [sc. birds] up, is withdrawne from them. 1626 F. Bacon §39 All Purgers haue in them a raw Spirit, or Wind; which is the Principall Cause of Tortion in the Stomach. 1725 A. Pope tr. Homer II. vii. 152 The balmy spirit of the western gale. 1752 J. Jackson I. 3 The first Act of God towards the Creation or Formation of this System was his causing a strong Wind, called the Spirit of God, to move upon the Waters. a1822 P. B. Shelley Witch of Atlas lx, in (1824) 49 With motion like the spirit of that wind Whose soft step deepens slumber. 1880 F. W. H. Myers Stanzas on Shelley in No. 245. 392 Yet, with an Orphic whisper blent, A Spirit in the west-wind sighs. society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > melody or succession of sounds > [noun] > a melody 1608 T. Weelkes (title) Ayeres or phantasticke spirites for three voices. the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > speech sound by manner > [noun] > aspirate > sound of `h' society > communication > writing > written character > [noun] > written character not a letter > diacritic > types of > in Greek 1612 J. Brinsley xx. 232 Call vpon them oft to marke carefully the accents of each word, with the spirits. 1680 G. Dalgarno 126 The unnecessary and troublesome luggage of Spirits and Accents. 1765 J. Wesley i. 2 Every Initial Vowel has a Spirit prefixed. 1844 G. S. Faber (ed. 2) III. v. v. 163 The inscription in the greek cursive character, even with the accompanying accents and spirits. 1861 F. H. A. Scrivener ii. 39 The rest of the book has neither spirits..nor accents. IV. The divine nature or essential power of God. 15. Theology. The divine nature or essential power of God, regarded as a creative, animating, or inspiring influence; spec. the Third Person ( person n. 6a) of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. See Phrases 1. the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > the Trinity > the Holy Spirit > [noun] c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Mark i. 12 Anon the Spirit [L. Spiritus] puttide hym in to desert. c1400 (Selwyn) (1904) viii. 26 Þe Spirit [L. Spiritus] also helpeþ oure infirmyte. c1475 (Trin. Cambr.) (1927) l. 580 (MED) Thow clepyst them aryght..The fadyr full of myght; The son, of wyt; the spyryt, of goodnes. c1520 M. Nisbet (1903) II. John i. 32 I saw the spirit cummande doun as a dow fra heuen. 1546 Bp. S. Gardiner f. lxxxviii Baptisme ye sacrament of birth of ye spirite, as ye speake, in newe englyssh, and of the holly goost as the olde english turned it. 1679 24 If the Spirit moves, he can disgorge himself against the Priests of Baal, the Hirelings. 1740 J. Dickinson 4 One of the ordinary Means, by which the Spirit beareth witness in our favour, is the Word of God. 1765 W. Mason 152 It is a knowledge only revealed by the Spirit..that the man Jesus is the only Saviour. a1822 P. B. Shelley Charles I ii, in (1870) II. 383 The apostolic power with which the Spirit Has filled its elect vessels. 1865 T. T. Carter in xiii. 198 Within this new dispensation of the Spirit there is a specially sacred Presence of our Lord. 1944 W. Temple 12 Jan. (1963) 142 I have treated the Son and the Spirit as God sub specie temporis and the Father as God sub specie eternitatis. 1977 G. W. H. Lampe iii. 91 Perhaps the most original and significant insights of Paul are that the Spirit's inspiration makes men Christlike and, ideally, makes the community a visible re-embodiment of Christ. 2013 19 July 18/3 The continuing work of unity is effected through the Spirit, who is the source of unity, and also the source of diversity and giftedness. the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > the Trinity > the Holy Spirit > [noun] > as representative of the Father c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Tim. iii. 16 That that is schewid in fleisch, is iustified in spirit, it apperide to aungels..it is takyn vp in glorie. a1393 J. Gower (Fairf.) iv. l. 2363 (MED) The hyhe god of his spirit Yaf to..men..Upon the forme and the matiere Of that he wolde make hem wise. c1400 (Bodl.) 151 (MED) I schal preie my Fadur, and anoþer Spirit he schal ȝeue to ȝou..þe Spirit of soþnes. 1568 H. Charteris Pref. Lyndesay's Wks. in J. A. H. Murray (1871) 10* God..sall strenthin with his Spirit. 1592 L. Andrewes sig. A2 The gracious assistance of his good Spirite. 1648 R. Wilkinson 112 The..soul..lives above all feares and torments; being kept safe in this Divine Spirit and power. 1678 G. Fox & J. Burnyeat 181 If they..erred from his Spirit, then they are not like to See him indeed. a1727 J. Reynolds (1740) 30 His Almighty Spirit, whom he sends as Distributer and Applicator of his purchased Redemption. 1798 J. Murray 56 The God who made the promise, to Adam, to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, and all that he by his spirit spoke to. 1804 J. H. Hobart 105 Not independently on human exertions..does this blessed Spirit effect the renovation of the soul. 1882 Oct. 30 Even the inshining of God's Spirit into our hearts still leaves us only men. 1911 28 Sept. 1218/1 The Lord puts His Spirit within His people to enable them to walk in His statutes. 1957 May 59/2 Every person..is actually created in God's image and endowed with God's spirit. 2000 G. O'Collins in A. Hastings et al. 599/2 New life through the indwelling divine Spirit. V. A guiding or governing principle or power, and related senses. 16. the mind > emotion > [noun] > principle or power of an emotion c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Tim. i. 7 God ȝaf not to vs the spirit [L. spiritum] of drede, but of vertu, and of loue, and sobrenesse. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 165 (MED) By a spirit of prophecie..þey telleþ what me doþ in fer contrayes. c1430 N. Love (Brasenose e.9) (1908) 61 Knowynge hym by the spirit of prophecie. a1450 tr. Aelred of Rievaulx (Bodl.) (1984) 5 (MED) Hou shamfast shuld she be..forto speke with a spiryt of ire. 1551 Isa. xix. 14 The Lorde hathe made Egypte droncken wyth the spirite of erroure, and they shall vse it in all matters. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane f. cxxix One of them, as though he were moued with the spirite of prophecie, runeth vp and downe the citie. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) i. i. 9 O spirit of Loue, how quicke and fresh art thou. View more context for this quotation 1668 J. Owen i. 4 The effectual power of the Spirit of grace. 1705 Duchess of Marlborough Let. 21 May in Hist. MSS Comm.: Rep. MSS Duke of Buccleuch (1899) I. 354 in (C. 9244) XLVI. 1 The spirit of lying runs away with more torrys than ever I had the honour to know. 1779 No. 18 The dark and gloomy spirit of fanaticism which prevailed so universally..during the last century. 1820 G. Belzoni iii. 326 The spirit of contradiction excited by the illiberality of travellers. 1855 W. H. Prescott I. ii. v. 473 The spirit of independence was fostered by the institutions of the country. 1917 E. S. Morse xxv. 378 Old chests, baskets, corn drying,..saved by the spirit of frugality in the hopes that sometime they may be useful. 1996 J. B. Keane 8 There are too many letters which are dictated by hate and envy rather than by the spirit of love. the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > tendency > [noun] > a tendency a1425 (c1395) (Royal) (1850) Isa. xix. 14 The Lord meddlid a spirit [L. spiritum] of errour in the myddis therof. ?1435 ( J. Lydgate (1934) ii. 636 God send [thee] also..A spyrit [c1450 Cleo. spiryt]..Of konnyng. 1598 W. Shakespeare v. ii. 63 A double spirit Of teaching and of learning. View more context for this quotation a1631 J. Donne (1955) II. 183 God giveth not his children..valour, and then leaveth them to a spirit of quarrelsomnesse. 1677 J. Brown xii. 221 A spirit of error is gone abroad, and many are carried off their feet therewith. 1712 J. Addison No. 445. ¶5 I fear they wou'd ascribe the laying down my Paper, on such an occasion, to a Spirit of Malcontentedness. 1765 4 56 A certain spirit of improvement..has been promoted and carried on. 1774 O. Goldsmith I. 18 If possest with a spirit of theory, his imagination will supply the rest. 1833 H. Martineau ix. 133 The old woman had infused a further spirit of thankfulness into the suffering boy. 1859 C. Barker iii. 62 To foster a spirit of comprehensive patriotism. 1904 7 May 17/3 A spirit of friendly rivalry has existed between those expert reinsmen. 1981 56 87 Reactions against earlier epicene pronouns often reveal a spirit of antifeminism. 1997 J. Bowker 38/1 Festival-goers indulge in a spirit of playfulness,..and throw red-coloured water and red powder at each other. 17. the mind > mental capacity > disposition or character > [noun] > individual qualities the mind > will > wish or inclination > [noun] > turn of mind, bent, or talent c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Dan. v. 20 Whan his [sc. Nebuchadnezzar's] herte was reyside vp, and his spirit stablid to pride, he was putt doun of the seete of his rewme. 1440 J. Capgrave (1977) l. 114 Amongis grete men he was ful wel itawt, Amongis þe mene meke of spirith & goost. 1564 J. Rastell f. 137 Not onlye Moyses had the grace of gouerning.., but seuentie elders..had imparted vnto them of his spirite and dignitie. 1576 A. Fleming tr. Erasmus in 337 He wisheth malicious..persons a better spirit. 1588 T. Kyd tr. T. Tasso f. 2v There mette vs another youth of lesse yeeres, but no lesse gentle spirit. 1665 T. Herbert (new ed.) 62 Observing in his pupil a Spirit fitted for the Government of that Monarchy. 1682 J. Flavell (new ed.) Ded. sig. A6 A dear friend (from whom I have often had the fair Idea and Character of your excellent Spirit). 1712 J. Addison No. 363. ¶8 His Person, his Port, and Behaviour, are suitable to a Spirit of the highest Rank. 1784 T. Lindsey 30 July (2007) I. 435 But the dwelling on these circumstances betrays not a good spirit. 1856 J. A. Froude I. i. 31 By these measures the money-making spirit was for a time driven back. 1897 5 Like the quality of tact, the cavalry spirit is perceptible only by its results. 1968 S. L. Elliott Rusty Bugles i. iv in 61 I got no time for them that don't uphold the camp spirit. 2011 S. Reynolds (2012) i. 21 The punishing minimalism of early techno especially..recalls the spirit of the Italian Futurists. the mind > mental capacity > disposition or character > [noun] > state of mind the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > state of feeling or mood > [noun] c1480 (a1400) St. Mary of Egypt 98 in W. M. Metcalfe (1896) I. 299 He saw mene schynand be, & bot repofe to god seruand, of dedis gud & spyryt schaldand. 1532 R. Whitford f. ccii But rather, with good wyll, and glad spirite: to be content with lesse than is nedefull. 1601 Bp. W. Barlow To Rdr. sig. A6v But from what spirit these obiections proceede, may soone be gessed at. 1711 A. Pope 15 A perfect Judge will read each Work of Wit With the same Spirit that its Author writ. 1850 D. Webster (1856) II. 365 The editorial in the Courier..is exactly in the right spirit. 1965 E. J. Howard (new ed.) ii. x. 157 Playing a game of draughts in a spirit so competitive as to verge on the cantankerous. 2010 J. Al-Khalili (2012) iii. 39 Christian and Jewish scholars were now freer to share their knowledge in a spirit of more open collaboration. 18. the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [noun] the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > character or nature > [noun] ?1534 tr. Erasmus sig. Bv The trewe spirite of the gospel.., whiche is sobre, mylde, & endewed with discrete symplicite. 1608 T. Price tr. O. Torsellino (new ed.) Ep. Ded. sig. *2v This kinde of gratitude..doth little auaile..to infuse the true spirit of the worke into the Readers minde. 1690 W. Temple Ess. Poetry in (1720) I. 241 The true Spirit or Vein of ancient Poetry. 1721 R. Bradley 189 Which is enough to support the Spirit of Botany. 1843 J. Ruskin I. 261 The spirit of the hills is action; that of the lowlands, repose. 1888 J. Bryce III. xciii. 298 To do so would be alien to the whole spirit of American legislation. 1968 21 Mar. 369/3 A simple slate pissoir where graffiti, true to the spirit of Rochdale, divide between sex and politics. 2015 93 14/1 Rinpa artists are particularly adept at reducing an image to its essential elements, capturing something of the subject's spirit and essence. the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > tendency > [noun] > prevailing tendency or spirit a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. ii. 176 Iohn. Aduerse Forreyners affright my Townes With dreadfull pompe of stout inuasion. Be Mercurie, set feathers to thy heeles, And flye (like thought) from them, to me againe. Bast. The spirit of the time shall teach me speed. 1651 No. 69. 1050 They have also ordered Mr. John Smith, and Mr. Mungo Law, two of the bitterest spirited Ministers in Scotland, to go to Sterling to take charge of the Garison there, which speaks out the spirit of the times. 1702 I. i. 36 It seem'd the more reasonable to Digress, upon the Nature, and Character, and Fortune of the Duke; as being the best mirroir to discern the..Spirit of that Age. 1796 Dec. 444 To..submerge the brightening spirit of the times in those immense clouds of ignorance and darkness. 1820 P. B. Shelley 1 May (1964) II. 189 It is the spirit of the age & we are all infected with it. 1884 W. E. Gladstone in 22 Sept. 3/3 This legitimate process..conducted in the spirit of the present day. 1903 G. Matheson 2nd Ser. xiii. 269 Shall a literary product reveal the spirit of its age and be silent as to the spirit of its author! 1931 H. Read ii. 128 Scarcely any other painter of the last century so faithfully reflects the life and spirit of his period. 2016 26 Aug. 27/1 In the spirit of the times, she favoured inside-out stitching, no-hem and ‘unlined’ pieces. the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose > of a statement, enactment, etc. the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > drift, tenor, purport > [noun] 1742 V. 89 According to the known Spirit of our Law, we can do no Injury to any Man entitled to Tythes, by obliging him to apply to an inferior Court. 1802 8 288 Knowing..that Magistrates are generally obliged to inflict penalties according to the Letter and not according to the Spirit of an Act. 1857 3rd Ser. vi. 84 His faith appears to have consisted in disbelieving the letter, almost as much as in believing the spirit of the promise. 1920 10 July 42/2 Where there are various forms of compulsion behind the written or unwritten codes, the shyster keeps the letter and violates the spirit. 1990 17 May 1/4 It is in their interests to block tobacco imports and protect their national products, against the spirit of the Single Market. 2004 37 1 Under the principate that soon became the Roman Empire, the form of the law was often observed, but the spirit of the law was often lost. 19. A person considered in relation to his or her character or disposition. the world > people > person > [noun] > as having character or qualities 1559 J. Heywood tr. Seneca ii. iii. sig. B.viiiv Whereto would ye with slaughtred blood a noble spirite stayne? 1598 E. Guilpin v. sig. D4v Here I conuerse with those diuiner spirits, Whose knowledge, and admire the world inherits. 1638 F. Junius 10 Many lively spirits at length are most pittifully turned away from their forward course. 1655 T. Fuller ix. 194 Thus impossible it is to please froward spirits. 1718 No. 56. 2 The Brave Spirits of France now strive to vindicate their Liberty in Religious Matters. 1746 P. Francis tr. Horace in P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace i. xix. 11 Let thirsty Spirits make the Bar their Choice. 1808 W. Scott in J. G. Lockhart (1837) I. i. 27 He is..led to be the associate and companion of those inferior spirits with whom he is placed. 1849 T. B. Macaulay I. i. 34 A few regiments of household troops are sufficient to overawe all the discontented spirits of a large capital. 1958 6 Nov. 742/2 She was wonderful entertainment value and a rare spirit. 2010 Aug. 121/2 We can detect that he's a poetic spirit by his beseeching eyes, cute freckles, and sensitive lower lip. 1603 S. Daniel Def. Ryme in (new ed.) sig. H3 Being..in all ages furnisht with spirites fitte to maintaine the maiestie of her owne greatnes. a1648 Ld. Herbert (1649) 104 So haughty were the major part of the spirits in this Assembly, that..they condemned Luther's bookes to the fire. 1768 H. Brooke III. xvi. 162 Our ship..was full manned with about two hundred and seventy spirits,..ready and desirous to go and meet death. 1890 23 Aug. 247/2 The miserable collapse of the Rucellai conspiracy left the Medici as strong as ever, but served to show..how many spirits were impatient of their rule. 1694 tr. E. Benoist II. iv. 238 The Marshal de Bouillon design'd thereby to show, that he was the Moving Spirit of the Party; that his Advice was sufficient to incline them to War. 1849 Dec. 180 At no time of his life, did his abilities either natural or acquired rank him as the leading spirit of Kentucky in counsel or action. 1923 4 Apr. 624/2 Robert Cecil is the driving spirit of the organization. 1982 Opera Canada Spring in R. Davies (1990) 349 Dr. Ruby Mercer, the linchpin, the life and soul, the animating spirit of opera in Canada. 2014 S. Armstrong-Reid vi. 131 Creelman would serve as the guiding spirit behind all five expert committees on nursing during the first two decades of the WHO's existence. VI. A substance, essence, etc., formerly believed to animate or provide life; a volatile substance, esp. one extracted by distillation. 21. a. the world > life > the body > secretory organs > secretion > [noun] > fluid secretion > spirits a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 53 For þe son beme..draweþ oute þe humours,..and by drawing oute of spirites [L. spirituum] makeþ hem coward of herte. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. iii. xxii. 121 A spirit is a subtil, aier[y] substaunce þat eggiþ and excitiþ þe vertues of þe body to here doynge and workes. Oþir..a spirit is a sotil body by þe strengþe of hete igendrid; in mannes body ȝeuynge lif by þe veynes..to bestis..and witt by..worchinge in bodies þat haueþ soules. a1400 tr. Lanfranc (Ashm.) (1894) 162 Of þis clene blood þe spirit is engendrid; which spirit is..more sutil, þan ony bodi. c1450 ( G. Chaucer (Fairf. 16) (1871) l. 489 Hys sorwful hert gan faste faynt, And his spiritis [a1450 Tanner 346 spiritus] wexen dede. c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in f. 55 (MED) If þat he haue þe science of knowynge of vertues, þe science of spiritis schal not be hid fro him. 1539 T. Elyot (new ed.) i. f. 10v Spirite is an ayry substance subtyll, styringe the powers of the body to perfourme their operations. 1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay xiv. 239 A mans..eyes fayle because the Spirits of them fayle. 1615 H. Crooke 61 The reason is, because all the spirits are immured. a1646 J. Burroughes (1652) vi. 266 The fatter mens bodies are, the lesse blood and the fewer spirits they have. 1725 N. Robinson 250 What Remedies will be properest to repress the Disorders of the Spirits. 1819 A. Rees XV. at Galenical With Hippocrates, he [sc. Galen] divided the living body into three principles, or component parts, the solids, the humours, and the spirits. 1843 J. J. G. Wilkinson tr. E. Swedenborg I. xii. 372 To explain the nature of the spirit of the blood belongs to..psychology; to explain the nature of the body thereof, to angiology. 1901 M. Foster v. 139 He added to the old view a new one, that the fermentative spirit which vitalized the blood passed also through the septum. 1951 12 80 He [sc. Thomas Vicary] also seems to add a fourth, the generative spirit, which resides in the sexual organs and is responsible for procreation. 2004 S. Ochs iv. 58 Galen postulated that different spirits were carried by the blood vessels (in the veins to nourish the body's tissue and in the arteries to confer vitality on the tissues). 1583 Serm. Christes Death 98/1 in A. Marten tr. P. M. Vermigli Through these [sc. faith, the word of God, and the sacraments] the spirit flowing from our head, wandereth vp and downe in the Church. 1719 W. Wood (ed. 2) 4 It disperses that Blood and Spirits throughout all the Members, by which the Body Politick subsists. 1814 H. F. Cary tr. Dante III. xxvi. 120 With the eye's spirit running forth to meet The ray. the world > life > the body > system > [noun] > organ > vital organs > action or power of a1400 tr. Lanfranc (Ashm.) (1894) 287 (MED) Whanne þe spiritis falliþ, þan a mannes vertues failen. ?c1450 (1891) l. 6065 Fra he was vp ryght sett, he began his spirits to gett with in a litil stounde. 1563 T. Sackville in W. Baldwin et al. (new ed.) Induct. xix My spirits returnd, and then I thus begonne: [etc.]. a1586 Sir P. Sidney (1590) i. i. f.3v At length, opening his eyes, he gaue a great groane..for by that, they found not onely life, but strength of life in him. They therefore continued on their charitable office, vntil (his spirits being well returned,) hee..gate vp. 1617 F. Moryson i. ii. ii. 118 At last feeling my spirits begin to faile me, I was glad to returne. 1670 I. Walton Life R. Hooker 110 in More he would have spoken, but his spirits failed him. 1701 N. Rowe i. i. 6 While I am, that ever will remain, And in my latest Spirits still survive. 1793 W. Cowper ii Thy spirits have a fainter flow, I see thee daily weaker grow. 1817 J. Riley vii. 63 My spirits fainted within me, and I fell to the earth deprived of every sensation. 1885 G. W. Melville xiv. 190 At sight of the red cheerful sparks shooting up from the cold, white waste,..my spirits revived, and I sat up on the sled. 1911 24 June 1145/2 The patient's spirits had risen; she could be allowed to leave the bed and spend some time on the lounge. 22. Alchemy. the world > matter > alchemy > alchemical elements > [noun] a1393 J. Gower (Fairf.) iv. l. 2464 Of bodies sevene..With foure spiritz joynt withal Stant the substance of this matiere. c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer (Ellesmere) (1875) l. 822 The firste spirit quyk siluer called is The seconde Orpyment the thridde ywis Sal Armonyak and the ferthe Brymstoon. a1500 ( G. Ripley (Ashm.) l. 1150 (MED) Cogellacion be made in dyuersse wysse, of spirit, of bodys dyssoluyd into water clere, of salttes also. a1550 (c1477) T. Norton (Sloane 1873) (1975) l. 3058 (MED) This hete..is hete for to sublyme All the spiritis of the myne. 1652 tr. F. Raudorff in 48 If you aske, why is Mercury called a better spirit then others, as there are sulphur, orpiment, arsenici, salarmenic, all these are called spirits also..; but this Mercury is much subtiler and clearer or penetrative, then the other. a1672 Earl of Sandwich tr. A. A. Barba (1674) i. viii. 29 Salt-Ammoniac..is one of those they call the four spirits, because the fire will convert them into smoak, and so they fly away. 1879 2 154 Of these the four asterised substances are the four ‘spirits’. 1983 23 203 Rafe is no more successful in learning the ‘four spirits’ and ‘seven bodies’ of alchemy than he was in conquering the points of the compass. society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > base metal > [noun] > mercury 1605 T. Tymme tr. J. Du Chesne i. iv. sig. C4v Man consisteth of Spirit, Soule, and body: as holy Writ testifieth.The Spirit..is represented by Mercurie: the Soule is represented by Sulphur: and the Body, by Salt.] 1661 R. Boyle iv. 242 We see that sapidness and volatility are wont to denominate the Chymists Mercury or Spirit. 1725 I. Watts i. ii. §2 The chemist makes spirit, salt, sulphur, water, and earth, to be their five elements. 1814 A. Rees (1819) XXVIII. at Principle The ancients..admitted five principles of bodies, which they call mercury or spirit, phlegm or water, sulphur or oil, salt, and earth. 23. the world > matter > alchemy > other alchemical substances or theories > [noun] > concentrated essence the world > matter > liquid > [noun] > types of liquid generally > distilled extract a1475 (1889) 2 Oure qui[n]ta essencia..hath .iij. names..brennynge watir, þe soule in þe spirit of wyn, & watir of lijf. 1608 T. Middleton iii. sig. D4v Mixed in a stone or glasse morter, with the spirit of Diamber. 1651 J. French iii. 66 Dissolve Salt-Armoniack in..spirit of Urine. 1651 J. French tr. J. R. Glauber i. 33 The spirit of Silk [L. Spiritus Serici]. After the same manner is there a spirit made of pieces of silke, which..is most excellent in wounds. 1700 T. Brown x. 117 To the Charms of Coffee, the wiser sort joyn'd Spirit of Clary, Usquebaugh, and Brandy. 1712 17 Mar. 2/2 (advt.) To be sold by Mr. Zabdiel Boylston... The Spirit of Benjamin, sweet Powder, Oyl, and Pomatum for Hair. 1771 J. Woodforde 30 Apr. (1924) I. 108 Some electuary for Aunt Parr, some spirit of Lavender for Aunt Anne. 1831 W. Scott Castle Dangerous vii, in 4th Ser. IV. 187 Wilt thou take some refreshment?—or shall we go on without the spirit of muscadel? 1853 J. F. Royle (ed. 2) 599 Spirit of Camphor... Dissolve Camphor..in Rectified Spirit. 1871 A. B. Garrod (new ed.) 149 Spirit of ether is employed in making the ethereal tincture of lobelia. 1902 R. J. Mecredy in A. C. Harmsworth et al. (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) vii. 105 ‘Petrol Engine’ is a slang term for an engine driven by a series of explosions of a mixture of the vapour of a light spirit of petroleum with air. 1988 Autumn 69/2 The Colonel..quacked himself up with tincture of bark, sal volatile and spirits of lavender. the world > matter > liquid > [noun] > types of liquid generally > distilled extract the world > matter > chemistry > physical chemistry > liquid phase > [noun] > liquids 1559 P. Morwyng tr. C. Gesner 306 When that is drawne out, vrge the spirits of the Vitriol by litle and little, encreasing the fire more and more, til al ye spirits be ouer passed. 1612 B. Jonson i. i. sig. B2 Haue I..Wrought thee to spirit, to quintessence, with paines Would twise haue wonne me the Philosophers worke? View more context for this quotation 1651 J. French v. 139 Dissolve any sulphurous..metall..in Aqua fortis, or any other acid Spirit. 1728 E. Chambers (at cited word) The Chymists are said to draw a Spirit from Sulphur, Salt and other Bodies, when they extract the Essence, or the subtilest Part thereof, by Distillation or otherwise. a1774 O. Goldsmith (1776) I. 380 A solid that will swim in water, will sink in spirit. 1800 R. Southey in C. C. Southey (1850) II. 91 The head and hands were sent here; I have seen them in the Museum, in spirits. 1854 E. Ronalds & T. Richardson (ed. 2) I. 289 In this manner, by one operation, spirit containing about 60 per cent. of alcohol is obtained. 1900 J. B. Cohen 168 Crystals of hydrobenzamide..separate out, which may be recrystallised from spirit. 1940 30 Mar. 586/2 The 87-octane spirit is generally obtained by the addition of small quantities of tetra-ethyl lead to good-quality ‘straight-run’ petrol. 1945 61 325/1 (table) Water-insoluble dyes for colouring oils, spirits, varnishes, etc. 1962 M. E. Murie ii. xii. 248 By George, the spirit's goin' down fast; she'll be thirty [below zero] at least before morning. 2005 A. De Pasquqale in M. M. Jordal 189 Anisated ammonia spirit, an ammoniacal, alcoholic solution containing 3% of anethol by volume is used orally. 2007 G. Hurley xiii. 266 Security..had recently been strengthened after a break-in by an alcoholic in search of embalming spirit. the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > distilled drink > [noun] 1663 in (1836) ii. 140 It is enacted by the Court that noe liquors bee sold..that shall exceed in prise six shillings the gallon except it bee English speritts. 1684 J. Bunyan ii. 67 He gave me also a piece of an Honey-comb, and a little Bottle of Spirits . View more context for this quotation 1722 D. Defoe 342 And then to observe the poor Creature preaching Confession and Repentance to me in the Morning, and find him drunk with Brandy and Spirits by Noon. 1743 S. Johnson Deb. Senate Lilliput in Nov. 579 It is not to be doubted, my Lords, but that Spirits will by this additional Duty be made one third Part dearer. 1813 H. Davy iii. 120 All the common spirits may, I find, be deprived of their peculiar flavour by repeatedly digesting them with..charcoal and quicklime. 1833 H. Martineau vi. 95 Every body agreed that spirits were the only safeguard against the perils of ditch water. 1841 C. Dickens i. xxi. 210 Quilp..drank three small glass-fulls of the raw spirit. 1984 (Nexis) 14 July Anyone carrying an extra open bottle of wine or spirits could find themselves paying a fine and losing the bottle into the bargain. 2000 H. Stevenson (2002) 137 All the band members..are incredibly skinny, despite the fact that they eat fry-ups and chip butties and drink spirits straight from the bottle. 2016 (National ed.) 7 Feb. (Travel section) 7/4 Her son..invited me to sit outside with him to drink Zhumir, an Ecuadorean sugar cane spirit. the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > dew > [noun] 1567 J. Maplet iii. f. 103 Stellio the starred and speckled beast saith Plinie, liueth most by the dew of Heauen, and spirite of the earth. 1733 W. Ellis 200 The Exhalations of the Sun that draws up a moist Vapour from the Earth, by some, called the Spirit, by others, the Salt of the Earth. 25. the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > immateriality > [noun] > immaterial or incorporeal thing > immaterial element in material things 1626 F. Bacon §98 The Spirits or Pneumaticalls, that are in all Tangible Bodies are scarce known. 1638 W. Rawley tr. F. Bacon 381 There is in every Tangible body a Spirit, covered and encompassed with the Grosser Parts of the Body. 1698 R. South III. 171 In the Rain, it is not the bare Water that fructifies, but a secret Spirit, or Nitre descending with it. a1722 E. Lisle (1757) 218 The spirit of the straw is washed out by the rain. 1662 P. D. C. tr. N. Le Fèvre I. i. iv. 41 They [sc. Plants] are buried too deep in the ground, and by this means deprived from that vivifying Spirit, by which they are animated, for they immediately die as if they were suffocated. 1674 (Royal Soc.) 9 104 The Nitro-aerial Spirit..doth sooner or later exacuate and make fluid the Salino-metallic parts. ?1790 J. Imison (ed. 2) 106 Air that has lost its vivifying spirit is called damp..The dreadful effects of damps are known to such as work in mines. 1817 W. T. Brande 25 The atmosphere, he observes, contains a certain nitro-saline matter, a spirit, vital, igneous, and fermentative, which exists in, and may be obtained from nitre; that it supports combustion, but is in itself incombustable. 1829 235 The oxygenous gas..is a kind of vivifying spirit or quality, which is necessary to continue the lives of animals. 1901 M. Foster 187 This was in his view a fermentation set up between the combustible, sulphurous particles residing in the muscle, and the nitro-aereal spirit brought to it by the nerves. 1964 54 44/1 In proper Latin..they [sc. the pores] are called ‘breathing holes’, spiramentum, because the vivifying spirit is conducted through them outside the body. 1994 W. R. Newman ii. 88 This is without a doubt the origin of John Mayow's (1641-1679) nitro-aerial spirit, a forerunner of oxygen in Mayow's theory of respiration. 1812 W. Martin iii. 12 Solution of Tin, called also ‘Composition’, and by our dyers ‘Spirits’, is made by dissolving the purest grain Tin in Aqua Regia, or Nitro Muriatic Acid. 1877 VII. 574/2 The so-called nitrate of tin (sometimes called ‘bowl spirits’, from being prepared in an earthenware bowl). 1916 8 Apr. 18/2 It will now be a good black, but must be raised with a pint of spirits in the same tub. Phrases P1. Phrases referring to the divine nature or essential power of God. Cf. sense 15. See also Holy Spirit n.the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > nature or attributes of God > [noun] > active essence or essential power a1382 (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. lxi. 1 The spirit of the Lord [L. spiritus Domini] [is] vp on me. c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Cor. ii. 11 What thingis ben of God, no man knowith, no but the spirit of God [L. Spiritus Dei]. a1400 (a1325) (Gött.) l. 7106 Sampson slou þat leon kene, Þe spirit of godd in him was sene. a1425 (c1395) (Royal) (1850) 1 Kings x. 6 The Spirit of the Lord schal skippe in to thee. a1555 J. Bradford (1574) sig. H.vi You are accepted into Gods fauour,..& are endued with the good spirit of God, euen the seale & signe manuell of your election in Christ. 1611 Judges xiii. 25 The Spirit of the Lord beganne to mooue him at times. 1841 R. C. Trench xiii. 220 The informing Spirit of God which prompts the works and quickens the faith. 1934 15 Sept. ii. 2/5 The Spirit of the Lord has ordained me to tell everyone to pray. 2006 ‘D. B.’ iii. 37 There was much more to come—an abundant life, receipt of the spirit of God, acquittal from guilt, [etc.]. b. Phrases relating to the power of God acting as an inspiring or animating force on the believer. In later use chiefly in the language of Pentecostalists and other Christian charismatic and evangelical groups.society > faith > worship > church music > [verb (intransitive)] > sing or chant > in language apparently unknown to singer society > faith > worship > preaching > conversion > convert [verb (intransitive)] > evidenced by speaking in tongues society > faith > worship > sacrament > baptism > kinds of baptism > spiritual > [noun] 1534 W. Marshall tr. Erasmus v. f. 123 A fore this there were the Selencianes, which dyd not receyue the water of baptyme, but onely the baptym of the spirite. 1652 F. Fullwood 15 You may conceive the Church invisible or visible: if invisible, here is a door to let you in, the baptism of the spirit and regeneration reall: if visible, here is another door for that too, the baptism of water, a regeneration visible. 1701 G. Whitehead ix. 118 Here (but in Self-contradiction) they grant, the Baptism of Water, and the Baptism of the Spirit, to be Two, and of different Kinds. 1814 Sept. 356/1 Does the Apostle speak of the baptism of the Spirit, or of water baptism? 1849 J. Belcher Baptists in (ed. 2) 48/2 As the word of God mentions no other baptism in the Holy Ghost, than what took place at Pentecost..we have no warrant to expect the scriptural baptism of the Spirit in the present day. 1896 R. A. Torrey i. 20 The Baptism with the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God coming upon the believer,..imparting to him gifts not naturally his own, but which qualify him for the service to which God has called him. 1972 R. A. Wilson tr. W. J. Hollenweger ii. 22 In a Bible school in Topeka, Kansas, run by Charles Parham, speaking in tongues was recognized as a distinguishing characteristic of the baptism of the Spirit. 2010 5 Feb. 23/2 As a result he concluded that he had received ‘Baptism in the Spirit’, which linked him with the so-called neo-Pentecostal movement that was then spreading rapidly in North America. ?1535 tr. M. Luther sig. b.iiii Wytnesse saynte Paule to the Galatiens sayenge. Ye haue receyued the spyryte, not by youre good workes, but bycause ye haue byleued the worde of god. a1665 J. Goodwin (1670) ii. 21 An utter incapacity of receiving the Spirit. a1704 J. Locke (1705) iii. 20 That the blessing promised to Abraham might come on to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we who are Christians might believing receive the Spirit that was promised. 1842 July 41/2 Mr. Baxter received the spirit on asking for it, without attending to the ordinances, and began to prophecy, whereas the scriptural way of attaining the gift of the Holy Ghost is, by baptism. 1902 11 Dec. 13/1 If we are born again, we have received the Spirit once for all. 1948 L. W. Brown in M. Warren vi. 154 There are..those who maintain that no man has truly received the Spirit unless he has spoken with tongues. 1990 7 June 3/1 The people are to repent and be baptised in the name of Jesus the Messiah, and then they will have their sins forgiven and receive the spirit. 2003 14 June b5/6 I really believe that music sets people's minds and hearts to receive the Spirit as they worship God. 1540 L. Ridley vi. sig. Q.1 He sheweth that we muste oftymes pray in the spyryte for this armour & be diligent & feruent in prayer feruently desyrynge of god this armoure. 1647 No. 2. 4 They have been so used to those set formes, that hold altogether impossible to pray by the spirit. 1671 R. McWard 243 I might take notice of the inaccuracy of your expression, of prayingby the Spirit; whereas the Scripture-phrase, is, to worship in Spirit. 1708 T. Dorrington 11 And therefore by praying in the Spirit here, must be meant hearty, earnest, and serious Prayer..: Praying with Reverence and godly Fear... This is praying in the Spirit, or by the Spirit, even the Spirit of Grace and Supplications. 1848 J. Brown III. iii. 408 There is no prayer in the true sense of the word, but ‘prayer in the Spirit’. 1972 W. Samarin ii. 22 One person says that praying in tongues has become such a part of her life that she wakes up at night and her ‘mind is praying in the Spirit’. 2013 C. A. W. Wallace iii. 33 My cell leader said she believed that the Lord was saying that I should pray in the Spirit for about an hour every day. (d) 1833 H. Drummond 31 He took the child in his arms and blessed it, singing in the Spirit for some time over it. 1852 C. Hammond vii. 142 They sang in the spirit, and with the understanding, the words painted in gold colors on my banner. 1909 T. B. Barratt 98 One who is filled with the Spirit..gets visions, prophesies, sings in the Spirit, staggers under the overwhelming weight of the Glory. 1964 N. Bloch-Hoell ii. 28 Mrs. Arthur..gives a striking account of angel visions and singing in the Spirit in perfect Latin followed by correct translation into English. 2000 S. Chan (2003) iii. 84 The Pentecostal ascetics also ‘sing in the Spirit’. 1910 14 June 3/2 Scarcely had the first hymn of praise commenced before it was found that some of the younger sisters were singing in the Spirit... The official interpreter..gave out the intelligence that these songs in the Spirit were perfectly intelligable to her. 1964 N. Bloch-Hoell ii. 28 With regard to the ‘song in the Spirit’ and the testimony of the nuns it must be remembered that the latter was no first-hand evidence. 2017 @ProlificFids in twitter.com 15 Oct. (accessed 11 Apr. 2019) I've reached the point where I'd rather hear songs in the Spirit than your regular actual songs. 1918 M. B. Woodworth-Etter 189 A number of the saints standing close by were slain, and laid like dead under the mighty power of God.] 1986 Mar. 29/2 Q:..Sometimes people faint when they're prayed with... What is this experience, and why does it happen? A: Being ‘slain in the Spirit’.., as this experience is sometimes called, refers to fallings as if being knocked down by some invisible force. 2006 A. Beaujon iv. 79 Other manifestations of the second blessing including being ‘Slain in the Spirit’, a worship rite in which congregants come up to the front of the church (an ‘altar call’) and fall to the ground as the pastor pushes their foreheads. the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > the Trinity > the Holy Spirit > [noun] c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) John xiv. 17 He schal ȝyue to ȝou another coumfortour, the spirit of treuthe [L. Spiritum veritatis]. c1400 (Bodl.) 151 (MED) I schal preie my Fadur, and anoþer Spirit he schal ȝeue to ȝou..þe Spirit of soþnes. 1533 J. Frith sig. Mi Yespirit of verytie, which is sent from God our Father through our saviour.., to lyghten our darke ignoraunce. 1551 John xv. 26 When the comforter is come,..whiche is the spirite of truthe [Gk. τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας]. 1645 H. Burton 32 There be in Parliament and Assembly, at least some true Nathaniels and Stephens, filled with the Holy ghost, and so many armies of prayers in the Spirit daily sent up to heaven, to bring down that Spirit of truth upon them. 1684 F. Bernard xi. 63 God gives you not the spirit of Aristotle, Cicero, Hypocrates, but his own Spirit, the Spirit of Verity. 1776 A. Serle 289 The Spirit of Truth evidently anointed his [sc. Christ's] Manhood by the Profluence of his Grace. 1789 iii. 18 The Spirit of Truth is pleading with all Flesh, the resisters, the dispisers shall be slain, and the slain of the Earth shall be many. a1817 T. Dwight (1818) IV. cxxxvi. 511 Some persons..appear to feel, as if regeneration could not be absolutely attributed to the Spirit of Truth, unless it was accomplished, altogether, without the employment of Means. 1904 L. Wiener tr. L. Tolstoy Critique Dogmatic Theol. v. in tr. XIII. 176 These words..prove the consubstantiality of the Holy Ghost with God: the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father. 1987 15 113 The resources for the spiritual fulfillment of the golden rule are found in Jesus' intimate relationship with the individual through the Spirit of Truth. P2. in spirit. society > faith > aspects of faith > spirituality > soul > [noun] > in temporary context c1384 (Royal) (1850) Apoc. iv. 2 Anoon I was in spirit [L. in spiritu], and lo! a seete was put in heuen, and on the seete oon sittinge. 1526 W. Bonde iii. sig. a*viiv Seyng in spirit the immutable or vnchaungeable truthe of god. 1582 Rev. i. 10 I was in spirit [L. in spiritu] on the Dominical day. 1667 J. Milton xi. 406 In Spirit perhaps he also saw Rich Mexico.., And Cusco in Peru. View more context for this quotation 1798 W. Wordsworth Lines Tintern Abbey in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge 204 How oft, in spirit, have I turned to thee O sylvan Wye! 1850 Ld. Tennyson xvii. 28 For I in spirit saw thee move Thro' circles of the bounding sky. View more context for this quotation 2006 M. Atwood 26 Already in spirit I was off and running—to the movies, to the skating rinks, to the swooning blue-lit dances. c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Cor. v. 3 Sothli I absent in body, but present in spirit, now haue demyd as present..him that thus hath wrouȝt. 1581 W. Fulke 435 Those that vpon necessarie cause were absent, were present in spirite. 1656 E. Bradshaw 20 I say Christ was present even there in spirit, for so he is alwayes. 1797 6 Sept. 306/1 There are many among you, who travail with us in spirit for the advancement of the cause of truth. 1802 8 Jan. 296 Though absent from his brethren in body, he was present with them in spirit. 1941 34 82/1 With all our best wishes to all comrades in arms..who, though unable to serve, are with us in spirit. 2014 17 May 16/5 Whenever some mad-haired old bag strides round an auditorium and asks if the name John means anything to those assembled be assured: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is there in spirit. c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. xxvi. 41 The spirit is redy, bote the flesh seik. 1549 H. Latimer 7th Serm. sig. Cc.iiiiv He was fayne to saye to hys dyscyples..Watche & pray, the spirit is ready, but the fleshe is weake. 1602 F. Trigge 42 The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weake: as though he should say, I know that you haue a willing mind, but the weaknes of the flesh hinders your willingnes. 1703 175 Lord, establish thou me with thy free Spirit, whereby I may stand in the hour of Temptation..that the Spirit may be willing, though the flesh be weak. 1853 23 July 274/2 I would endeavor to follow whithersoever he would lead; but nature was very weak, though the spirit was willing, and there was still a disposition to keep back part of the price of the land. 1925 A. Huxley iii. xiii. 269 The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Weak in pain, but weaker still.., more inexcusably weak, in pleasure. 2009 11 June 11/4 Sagittarius... The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. There is a good chance you will start something that takes much dedication and then leave it in shambles. c1449 R. Pecock (1860) 196 God is a spirit, and it bihoueth hem that worschipen him to worschipe in spirit and trouthe. 1485–6 W. Caxton tr. Laurent cxlvii. sig. x.vi Who wyl praye god and haue hys requeste graunted, hym byhoueth that he praye in spyryte and in trouthe. 1529 T. More i. f. xv/2 And in yt place as a place plesant to god dyd they pray in spyryte and in truth. 1654 J. Naylor 17 The Scriptures-worship is not in Idolls Temples, Formes and Letters; but in spirit and in truth. 1742 W. Law iii. 211 Those Mysteries that are only to be approached by those that are of a pure Heart, and who worship God in Spirit and in Truth. a1842 T. Arnold in A. P. Stanley (1844) II. App. A. 344 Whether while we worshipped Thee in form, we worshipped Thee in spirit and in truth. 1920 J. Galsworthy iii. xiv. 328 At this moment he knew with certainty that he would never be near to her in spirit and in truth, nor she to him. 2005 (Nexis) 20 May 14 As we worship in spirit and in truth, we will individually and collectively be transformed into a genuine dwelling place for our God. c1450 (1904) I. 57 So at þe laste he tuke his spiritt vnto hym. 1643 in (1703) II. vi. 134 They have of late taken spirit, and begun to speak big words. 1811 Sept. 171 He encouraged me to take spirit, and convinced me, by his arguments, that adversity was indeed the best school of philosophy. 2017 (Nexis) 12 Sept. 2 The enslaved African Americans..took spirit in the music's uplifting messages of freedom and togetherness. P6. spirit of the world. 1528 W. Tyndale f. xxii If yt ye do no thinge but that ye world doth, and they which have the spirite of ye worlde, wherebye shall ye knowe yt ye are the sonnes of God & beloved of God, more than the world? 1648 J. Sparrow tr. J. Böhme ix. 66 When disobedience entred, they were driven out, and saw that they were naked: for at that instant the spirit of the world caught them, in which there was meere anguish,..corruptibility and death. 1700 i. 7 That Primitive Fervour began to decay, and the Spirit of the World to take hold of the luke-warm Clergy. 1850 J. Jackson 29 May the spirit of the world be subdued and cast out by the Spirit which is of God. 1934 62 470 The spirit of the world has always been in sharp conflict with the spirit of Christ. 2016 16 Nov. You can have people coming to Mass with more of a mind for the spirit of the world than for the Spirit of God. 1605 T. Tymme in tr. J. Du Chesne Ep. Ded. sig. A3 That spirit of Life (which may truely be called the spirit of the world)..moueth..in all creatures, giving them existence in three, to wit, salt, sulphure, and Mercury. 1651 J. French v. 107 In the element of Water there is a great plenty of the Spirit of the world,..and..this Spirit hath three distinct substances, viz. Salt, Sulphur, and Mercury. 1680 R. Boyle (new ed.) ii. 112 A certain Spirituous Substance..by some mistaken for the Spirit of the World Corporify'd. 1931 J. C. Locke tr. É.-J. Grillot de Givry (1971) iii. i. 350 Just as the spirit of the Lord..moved upon the face of the waters, so must float over the waters of the athanor the spirit of the world, the spirit of life which the alchemist must be skilful enough to master. 1994 P. M. Rattansi & A. Clericuzio iii. 77 The way to prepare a solvent of gold by means of the spirit of the world was the subject of a conference that Oldenburg attended in Paris. 1684 W. Salmon i. iv. 198/2 Take..spirit of Anise, half an ounce: Oyl of Sugar, six drams: Balsam of Sulphur, one scruple: Oyl of Annise, six drops. 1725 R. Bradley at Anise To Have the Essence and Spirit of Anise, take a Pound, or a Pound and a Quarter of Spanish Aniseed..with Six Pints of good Brandy. 1837 4 Feb. 682/2 A spirit of anise, sweetened with sugar, is sold by the liqueur dealers. 1915 B. Fantus vii. 45 (table) Sweet Tablets of Charcoal... Charcoal, finely powdered... Spirit of anise, 10%... Spirit of coriander, 10% [etc.] 2010 L. Skidmore-Roth (ed. 4) 31 Dosages... Adult topical: 5%-10% concentration essential oil, applied prn; spirit of anise 0.25-0.50 tsp (1:10 dilution in alcohol), diluted. P8. the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > [adjective] 1745 23–26 Nov. Their Chiefs intend to give the Marshal Battle, before their forced Marches have worn them quite out of Spirits. 1779 J. Warner in J. H. Jesse (1844) IV. 259 [She] is..so out of spirits, that she is cruelly afraid she shall never live till her dear master's return. 1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton I. i. i. 10 Who can be out of spirits in such weather? 1860 J. Brown (1907) 137 I am..somehow out of spirits. 1907 G. B. Shaw iv. 94 You seem rather out of spirits... You havnt got neuralgia, have you? 1980 29 May 9/3 Pisces..You may start the day feeling tired and a little out of spirits. the mind > emotion > pleasure > cheerfulness > [adjective] 1747 B. Hoadly iv. i. 48 Drunk! no! I am not drunk—Tipsy, perhaps, with my good Fortune—Merry, and in Spirits. 1766 O. Goldsmith II. xiii. 221 His time is pretty much taken up in keeping his relation..in spirits. 1826 B. Disraeli II. iv. iii. 189 I suppose he's quite in spirits at your success? 1859 C. Dickens ii. v. 58 Up one minute and down the next; now in spirits and now in despondency! 1944 G. Heyer xxi. 243 George shrugged his shoulders. ‘Do as you please! I don't know what should have happened to put you in spirits. When last I saw you—.’ 2003 11 Apr. g5/1 It's good to see him back in spirits. 1771 T. Smollett III. 157 He must be a Goth and a barbarian, if he did not enter into the spirit of such a happy and humorous contrivance. 1844 tr. L. Faucher 8 Glasgow had, no less than Manchester, entered into the spirit of this industrial revolution. 1910 19 Feb. 13/2 The freshmen seem to have gotten into the spirit of things. 1961 J. Dawson (1962) 53 We soon had our heads together..mapping out my itinerary, Mother really entering into the spirit of it. 1991 T. Mitchell ii. 57 This might have been all to the good if the Spanish upper classes had entered fully into the spirit of the Enlightenment and had set out to renovate and rationalize every aspect of their benighted land. 2017 (Nexis) 20 Apr. (T2 section) 7 The men-hens entered into the spirit of things admirably, turning up in skirts and adorned with glittery tat. the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > expressions of commendation [interjection] 1853 11 Nov. The ‘American’ editor was gone to the city, to lay in new type, engage a city correspondent, and make arrangements for further improvement in his paper. That's the spirit. 1871 17 Mar. The Republicans of Rock Island will hold a meeting..to organize a club and perfect their organization. That's the spirit. 1930 M. Allingham xxvii. 272 ‘I was ashamed that he should be..in my service.’ ‘That's the spirit,’ said Campion. 1974 G. F. Newman ii. 70 ‘I'm absolutely certain I'll be completely vindicated.’ ‘That's the spirit.’ 2005 H. Mantel vii. 226 Knew you'd find me, knew you would, that's the spirit. the world > space > place > [noun] > atmosphere or influence of a place 1899 A. Meynell i. 2 The spirit of place, which is to be seen in the shapes of the fields and the manner of the crops, to be felt in a prevalent wind..calls out and peals in the cathedral bells. 1918 D. H. Lawrence in Nov. 319 All art partakes of the Spirit of Place in which it is produced. 1981 25 Jan. 30/2 Of even the great cathedral of Canterbury Hilaire Belloc wrote with deep sadness for a spirit of place sought but not found. 2015 M. Newton (2016) Introd. p. xv In Kipling's writing,..Puck stands as an ever-present embodiment of the spirit of place. Compounds C1. Compounds relating to senses in branches I. – V., esp. branches I. and II. a. As a modifier. a1637 B. Jonson Tale of Tub iv. vi. 101 in (1640) III Helpe, helpe, a legion—Spirit legion, Is in the barne! in every straw a Divell. 1662 H. Hibbert 127 Soul-light is not enough to make us truly wise, but there must also be spirit-light. 1778 12 Seek out some lone sequesterment to dwell, Where spirit-shapes repair at dewy eve. 1844 E. A. Poe in Mar. 142/1 During the swell of the organ, the spirit-voice of the deceased addresses itself to the murderer. 1865 M. E. Braddon iii Shadowy as those spirit-hands of which we hear so much nowadays. 1874 ‘G. Eliot’ College Breakfast Party in July 167 The Church as..fount of spirit force. 1915 W. B. Yeats xiv. 70 Somnambulistic country girls..become mediums for some genuine spirit-mischief, surrendering to their desire for the marvellous. 1936 E. Sitwell i. 20 According to Mr Owen's account, the Duke returned.., after death,..in order to confide matters of importance to him... These spirit-visits must, one imagines, have been the result of the Duke's interest in minor details. a1957 R. Campbell tr. A. de Campos in (1960) III. 138 Which, once constructed, announce themselves As Real-Things, Spirit-Things, or Entities of the Stone-Soul, Made ours at certain moments by root-sensations. 2016 (Nexis) 5 Mar. The rest of the film follows Ian's journey in which he becomes more open to the spirit sense. 1850 11 July None ought to be astonished at the new evidences, which the success of the spirit knockings furnishes, of the prevalence of human credulity. 1858 W. M. Wilkinson (title) Spirit drawings; a personal narrative. 1867 J. H. Powell (title) Mediumship:..with brief instructions for the formation of spirit-circles. 1893 Jan. 125 Can a ghost be photographed? Are all the spirit-photos frauds? 1928 25 Jan. 6/7 Other tricks exposed were the methods of writing spirit messages on a slate, of touching people with spirit hands, and of making spirit photographs. 1995 26 June 41 Mr. King had not been dead a fortnight before a statement to that effect was published in the spiritualist weekly Psychic News. His old friend, the late Duchess of Hamilton, in an interview, said Mr. King had always sought spirit guidance in affairs of the state. 2018 43 1 Practices discussed as supernatural include table rapping and table tipping, levitation, seances, spirit manifestations, clairvoyance, automatic writing or drawing, spirit photography, and mesmerism. 1651 J. F. tr. H. C. Agrippa ii. lv. 328 For what do these verses seem to mean, then that the world should not only have a spirit soul, but also to partake of the divine mind. 1833 18 Jan. 17/1 (advt.) This present Friday..will be performed..the Spirit Bride and the Magi's Daughter. 1838 W. L. Alexander tr. G. Billroth II. (1 Cor. xv. 42-44) 112 What is subjected to earthly death is only the soul-body, the principle of natural life; at the coming of Christ, however, it will be raised a spirit-body. 1839 P. J. Bailey 50 Have I not heard thee hint of spirit-friends? Where are they now? 1841 S. C. Hall & A. M. Hall I. 192 A belief in the existence of the spirit-chieftain. 1845 G. Murray 186 The spirit-lady soars away. 1845 P. J. Bailey (ed. 2) 119 There are spirit-rulers of all worlds. 1848 P. J. Bailey (ed. 3) 336 It will bear the gaze Of all the star souls and the spirit stars Which will the living land of light indwell. 1850 E. B. Browning Seraphim (new ed.) i, in (new ed.) I. 116 Doth the Spirit-wind Blow white those waters? 1900 Jan. 96 For ages..these wild people had believed in spirit-guardians, and also in spirit-enemies. 1906 D. A. Huebsch tr. O. D. D. Pfleiderer ii. 172 The heavenly spirit-being which appears in Buddha and other redemptory personages is designated as ‘the great man’. 1961 N. Roy (1989) iii. 73 Give these heads to your dancers, and the skeleton head of the spirit monster must be impaled on a pole. 2010 (National ed.) 20 Aug. c22/4 Baule sculptures of spirit-spouses, embodying the significant others each of us has in the metaphysical realm. 2016 L. Erdrich 227 He..whispered in her ear. I got some spirit helpers. 1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas (new ed.) ii. iii. 56 It is the spirit-inspiring Spirit. 1650 ‘R. Burthall’ 16 I say beware of these spirit-mongers; that their fair pretences, beguile you not. 1709 Ld. Shaftesbury ii. v. 143 In Ghostly Company of Spirit-hunters, Witch-finders [etc.]. 1777 R. Potter tr. Æschylus Choephoræ in tr. Æschylus 323 Bitter constraint and spirit-sinking fear. 1798 S. T. Coleridge 1 O 'tis a quiet spirit-healing nook. 1840 E. A. Poe Ligeia in I. 173 An airy and spirit-lifting vision. 1858 T. Guthrie (1859) 20 The same spirit-freeing words. 1877 J. E. Carpenter tr. C. P. Tiele ii. 29 The magicians, soothsayers, and spirit-charmers. 1925 27 212 The shaman is a spirit-hunter just in the same way as the spirit is a man-hunter. 1982 (Nexis) 18 Apr. 16 Witch doctor, a common translation, is far too lurid to describe the harmonious wisdom of these Spirit Diviners. 2011 13 Jan. 60/2 The bureaucratization of scholarship in the humanities is simply spirit-crushing. 2015 9 May (South/West ed.) 130/1 It's happened to us all: getting stuck with someone who is so dull or spirit-draining that feigning a life-threatening malaise seems to be the only likely way out. d. With past participles, forming adjectives. 1602 W. Fulbecke Ep. to Rdr. sig. A2v The valiant Persians, the spirit-guided Hebrewes, the prudent Grecians. a1644 F. Quarles (1645) xii. 59 And what his spirit-prompted pen did write Was truth it self, and most exact upright. 1851 29 Mar. Spirit Rappings... On the evening of the 21st of March the spirit-moved circle met at the house of Mr. Courtney. 1903 R. C. Morgan viii. 53 By coming unto Jesus..as members of the Spirit-baptized Church. 2003 18 Oct. i. 2/6 In its statement..the New Hampshire diocese said its members had ‘faithfully and prayerfully considered and followed a Spirit-led process for the election of our new bishop.’ a1628 F. Greville (1651) v. 60 If not with abrupt, and spirit-fall'n tolleration, yet with that invisible web of connivencie. a1657 G. Daniel Trinarchodia: Henry V ccxxxvii, in (1878) IV. 160 Stung with the Aspiche of invadeing feare, Or Spirit-froze, bound vp in bloodlesse veines. 1792 G. Colman ii. 35 Disappointment in my life's best hopes so feeds upon my life, and wears me inward that I am nearly spirit broken. 1839 P. J. Bailey 268 See where she flies, spirit-torn, round the heavens. 1859 J. H. Ingraham i. xxv. 423 [The queen] seems heart-broken, spirit-crushed! 1922 D. H. Lawrence v. 75 We are sympathy-rotten, and spirit-rotten, and idea-rotten. 1971 40 99 Then, like other Ranters, he [sc. Abiezer Coppe] compares himself to the spirit-stricken Nebuchadnezzar. 1984 tr. A. V. C. Ramalingam in 19 17 Starvelings, poor, too proud to beg and spirit-broken, broke me. 1817 P. B. Shelley xii. xxxviii. 269 The stream..faster bare The spirit-winged boat. 1855 R. Browning Statue & Bust in I. 157 A pale brow spirit-pure. 1902 T. Stickney 28 We climbed the stair, a sick moon-gazer I Beneath her white and spirit-wingèd moon. 1969 ‘H. MacDiarmid’ (1994) II. 1129 His was..The spirit-tongued Echo of Prometheus Unbound. f. 1873 D. D. Lum i. ii. 47 Different answers have been given as to whether spirit-animals exist in the spirit world. 1895 5 Jan. 10/1 A clairvoyant friend sees spirit animals around us here, and also in the spirit spheres. 1927 U. Holmberg IV. 507 This spirit-animal is said to appear to the shaman at the most three times in his life. 1973 Feb. 49 He..talked about the Indian belief that each individual has a spirit-animal serving him as a guide. 2005 10 Mar. 125/4 Michael Gira..became something of a spirit animal for the band during the recording. 2015 (Nexis) 7 Sept. She considers the cow her spirit animal. ‘They are peace-loving, focused and nurturing.’ society > faith > worship > sacrament > baptism > kinds of baptism > spiritual > [noun] 1648 W. Dell 12 It is not Water but Spirit Baptisme that makes us Christians, and Water Baptisme hath been an unlawfull blending or mixing of the Church and World together. 1796 P. Werden v. 31 Should we..admit this to be spirit baptism, it proves too much, for the ark gives no natural life, nor wrought any natural change in any of those that were saved by it. 1854 11 Oct. They must receive a new birth, a spirit baptism, else in entering the sanctuary they but pollute it. 1964 N. Bloch-Hoell vii. 142 Glossolalia, in connection with the Spirit baptism, was generally believed to be a permanent Gift of Grace. 2014 14 Sept. b5/2 Officials worried about the decline in messages in tongues—or spirit baptism—at a general council meeting this month. 1850 10 Sept. (advt.) The Knockers in Rochester..comprehending the Rise and Progress of the mysterious noises in Rochester..generally received as spirit communications. 1960 W. Naylor 7 The uncertain art of continuous spirit communication. 2005 M. Roach viii. 206 William O'Neil, who had a taste for the paranormal and a lab full of oscillators and ultrasonic receivers, developed Spiricom, a device for spirit communication. 1850 4 594 Native remedies have failed to cure him, and ere his failing strength desert him, he sends for the ‘spirit-doctor’. 1936 June 187/1 The would-be spirit-doctor, who must have what the African regards as a faculty for ‘seeing spirits’—we might term it clairvoyancy. 2014 18 30 Although the spirit doctor continued to offer diagnoses and prescriptions for ailments, he insisted that the real power to heal came from the sitters. 1854 W. Graham 384 The Spirit of God filled him and led him into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil, that we might see how a Spirit-filled man can resist and triumph over the assaults of the tempter. 1936 J. Brice xiii. 226 The prayer-life of the Spirit-filled believer is transformed through his new apprehension of the Father. 2012 11 May 14/5 There is a challenge in every generation to distinguish between tradition, the living stream of Spirit-filled wisdom, and traditionalism. 1834 31 May 377/2 ‘Let me inform thee,’ continued the spirit-guide, as they advanced joyfully towards the gateway of the hall of beauty, ‘that the sixty thousand maids..are such as died on earth of a broken heart.’ 1877 H. P. Blavatsky II. ii. 118 A medium must be passive; and if a firm believer in his ‘spirit-guide’ he will allow himself to be ruled by the latter. 1982 E. Jenkins xxii. 172 A matter between him and his spirit-guides, not one with which human beings had anything to do. 2015 (Nexis) 17 June Helen Chadwick acts as a channel for spirit guides, angels and loved ones. 1880 6 Nov. 4/2 The influence of imagination..on certain cases is very well known to physicians... Spirit healers, as well as ecclesiastical impostors, know this well. 1948 12 July 3/1 A 17-year-old Kirkintilloch girl who..had never been able to walk, was one of a number of persons who were treated by Mr Harry Edwards, a ‘spirit healer’ from London. 2015 (Nexis) 25 Feb. Gig Harbor's good vibrations make it an ideal location for spirit healers, those who have been contacted and psychics to gather. the world > the supernatural > the occult > spiritualism > [noun] > spiritual healing 1856 Feb. 3 Spirit hands, spirit voices, spirit healing. 1960 28 Oct. 649 One of their [sc. Spiritualists'] chief interests is ‘spirit healing’; that is, any healing that is brought about by a non-human agency. 1995 June 61/1 The ‘wondrous events’ in question here are mainly parapsychological in nature, ranging through..apparitions, near-death experiences, firewalking, psychic surgery and spirit-healing. the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > [noun] > domain of 1829 25 July 86 One mighty groan spoke the departure of the Briton's soul to the spirit land. 1970 D. Brown (1991) iv. 94 We want to go and meet our families in the spirit land. 2006 51 638/2 The deceased's soul, which had returned from the Spirit Land. the world > the supernatural > the occult > spiritualism > [noun] > spiritualist or medium 1851 12 July 394/1 Among the crowd the other day, there happened to be Dr. W. and his lady, accompanied by Mrs. Fish, the celebrated Spirit-medium. 1979 P. Niesewand vii. 50 We've..got..to enlist the support of spirit mediums. The ancestral spirits are supposed to speak through them. 2005 22 Sept. 10/4 She has a direct link to Spirit World through her ‘familiar’, or spirit medium, Morris Warren. 1874 Nov. 330 If you then asked what became of the Hydrogen and Oxygen atoms thus bereft of their companion Spirit-monads, he might say, that such atoms are, indeed, dead. 1972 4 9 Phase C moves from the universal nature of wisdom to a definition of spirits which closely corresponds to descriptions of the spirit-monad as found in the Monadology. 2018 F. Tomkinson in S. Bergès & A. L. Siani vi. 79 Creatures are composed of a mix of spirit monads and body monads. 1887 319 A fetich of some sort..is brought in, and spirit-money is burned before it. 1935 Sept. 550 A great deal of spirit money..is burnt for the spirits of the dead. 1967 27 Aug. 31 (caption) A sister of the dead man has a box of spirit money to throw along the way to buy the good will of spirits. 2006 A. Y. Chau viii. 160 The pile of bright yellow spirit money burning like a bonfire. 1862 12 Nov. 218/1 For some weeks past the Spiritual quidnuncs of Boston have been making a flourish of trumpets over what they call ‘spirit photographs’. 1968 114 1474/2 After his wife's death in 1916 his interest in the problem of survival increased and we even find him attempting to obtain a spirit-photograph of his deceased wife. 2009 30 Oct. 12/7 The picture is one of 250 daguerreotypes, calotypes, negatives, x-rays and spirit photographs exhibited in..the British Library's first ever major photographic exhibition. 1862 12 Nov. 218/2 If you press a newly printed paper upon glass, you may leave a picture on the glass, which will be invisible, but which you can see in a strong light, and which can be transferred precisely as is done in the process of what is now called ‘spirit photography’. 1976 Apr. 29/1 The facts of spiritualism may prove spirit photography, but such apparent productions do not prove spiritualism. 2007 July 41/2 The Victorian era saw the dawn of the science of photography, and this plus the vogue for Spiritualism made spirit photography popular. 1840 x. 116 The spirit-possessed Reubenite recoils from him. 1897 M. Kingsley 417 Sending out long white arms..and then drawing them back as if it were some spirit-possessed thing. 1994 16 Jan. 4/2 Candomblé and Santería..manifest the orishas through spirit-possessed dances and harness their vital power for the benefit of the community. the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > evil spirit or demon > [noun] > familiar or possessing spirit > possession by 1854 7 14 The casting out or exorcism of these daimons was amongst the Jews also an ordinary practice... Allied to this notion of spirit possession, was that of having a ‘familiar’ spirit, or a spirit of prophecy, at command, a ‘python’, &c. 1989 R. Littlewood & M. Lipsedge (ed. 2) ix. 202 Psychosis in Haiti is believed to be caused by spirit possession. 2009 I. Thomson xii. 143 Revival, one of the great religions of the Jamaican poor, incorporates elements of Low Church chant and hellfire hymnal with the spirit-possession and ‘healing lore’ of West African root doctors and shamans. the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > [noun] > domain of 1845 A. B. Welby in Jan. 37/2 Her bosom yet will..find its mate, And all the joys it found so blissful here Within that spirit-realm perpetuate. 1920 J. S. King 445 Life in the spirit realm is as natural to those there, as earth life is to mortals here. 2002 P. Blom (2003) 44 Gravity, magnetism and acoustic resonance were all counted among the occult phenomena, together with the pneuma, the spirit realm governing the object world. 1909 May 416/2 In case the imps of mischief should take it into their heads to wander across country..a big ‘Spirit Screen’ painted with a fearful red or blue monster faces each house. 1979 I. Pruitt iii. 21 No one in the street could have seen into any but the Entrance Court or seen anything but the Spirit Screen. 2005 R. Belsky v. 102 Large spirit screens built just within the front entrances kept out stray gazes and bad fengshui. 1817 J. Baillie 2 July (1999) I. v. 372 The homely meanness of his incantations & spirit songs. 1876 July 253 Lively fancy, without elaboration, in the spirit-songs of ‘Manfred’. 1908 G. Herring tr. K. Rasmussen ii. 150 He..begins to tremble all over from head to foot, and then suddenly springs out on the floor and strikes up the monotonous spirit-song [Danish aandevise]. 1946 M. Lantis 205/2 Some..‘spirit songs’..were sung by the shaman in public performances to demonstrate his magic powers, to show off his spirit helpers and give a semireligious entertainment. 1975 F. Mowat (1978) 135 I heard her softly singing her spirit song.., the secret song she had received from her mother's mother and with which she could summon her helping spirit. 1991 D. M. Hines ii. 47 In revealing itself to the child, the spirit would utter its characteristic animal cry, sing its special spirit song.., and finally resume its animal form ad disappear. 1777 J. Brand 71 Mr. Bourne might have stiled this Chapter, A Sermon on Spirit-walking. 1895 9 Aug. 3/4 The belief in spirits and spirit walking is just about as firmly rooted... If a man is unhappy after death, his relatives are constantly reminded of the fact by his frequent appearances to them. 1992 alt.psychoactives 2 Aug. (Usenet newsgroup, accessed 19 Nov. 2019) Calamus was associated with spirit-walking,..when people would cover completely improbable distances in the course of very short times. 2018 R. A. Salvatore 489 A great sadness fell over him, one that broke his inadvertent magic spell of spirit-walking and sent him flying back to his body. 1885 Dec. 564/1 Some of the walls in China have painted on them large pictures of dragons. These are called spirit walls. They are built to protect the houses from evil spirits. 1948 G. H. Johnston ii. 47 Alongside the road, protecting the big houses from wandering devils, were spirit-walls, blank and forbidding. 1995 29 568 It is interesting to note that these hungry ghosts are the very same evil spirits that the feng shui mirrors and spirit walls are designed to keep out of the house. society > education > educational administration > school administration > [noun] > special day or week society > education > educational administration > university administration > [noun] > special day or week 1921 29 Nov. 6/2 School spirit week. ‘No spirit—no school’..won first prize in the slogan contest conducted as part of ‘better spirit week’ in the high school.] 1923 22 Feb. 3/3 A week which shall be called ‘Spirit Week’ has been set aside, to be utilized for the bolstering up of class spirit on the campus. 1963 Mar. 75/2 Participation in activities such as weekly pep rallies, Homecoming, Spirit Week, and the Phi Mu Alpha Christmas concert have kept Gamma Omegas busy. 2015 T. I. Stone 26 There are pictures of the five of us dressed up in the school colors for spirit week, and the four of us surrounding Kaitlyn when she won homecoming princess. the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > [noun] > domain of 1826 39 Tho' now poor finite worms we cannot tell The splendors of that place; or how, or what It is, to dwell with seraphim above, To live pure spirit in a spirit world, Where nought corporeal can amalgamate. 1847 W. Smith tr. J. G. Fichte 62 So does the Spirit-World not indeed flow together at the breath of Love, for in it there is no Winter, but there all is and abides in eternal communion with the mighty Whole. 1871 E. B. Tylor I. 131 Two of the most popular means of communicating with the spirit-world. 2016 L. Erdrich 267 Although she was pronounced dead at the scene, a doctor CPR'd and warmed her blood and brought her back from the spirit world. 1664 T. Palk 73 And as they are not Gospel-professors, or true Christians, in the account of God, who worship not him with an internal spirit-worship, though they be never so frequent and constant in external acts of Religion. 1691 R. Maynforth 33 And if the Enemy should prevail To cast our Bodies in some Goal, As he hath done, some heretofore, Which faithful Testimony bore Against the Rulers in those times, Who Spirit-worship counted crimes. 1878 G. F. Maclear ii. 28 Spirit-worship, which peopled all the objects of nature with malignant beings. 2003 28 Sept. i. 3/2 It points to a belief in witchcraft and spirit worship—things people don't want to acknowledge. 1868 J. M'Clintock & J. Strong II. 907/1 Duchobortzi, the name of a Russian sect, not certainly known to have existed before the 18th century. The word is the plural of Duchobozetz_[sic], meaning Spirit Wrestler. It is the name of one of the many sects of the Russo-Greek Church. 1999 C. Thubron (2000) vii. 184 There were the pious Stundists and the Dukhobor ‘Spirit-wrestlers’, pacifists, who believed in the primacy of an indwelling spirit, turning even the Bible superfluous. 2015 16 May d15/1 It was the Orthodox Church that gave them their name. It means ‘spirit wrestlers’, because church officials accused them of wrestling against the spirit of God. the world > the supernatural > the occult > spiritualism > [noun] > spirit-writing 1851 12 June He..showed Mrs. Fish a paper upon which were written some sentences which she said was spirit writing. 1871 E. B. Tylor I. 135 The Baron..publishes a mass of fac-similes of spirit-writings thus obtained. 2018 (Nexis) 5 June 7 The show..features mediumship readings, spirit writing, and several horror-themed demonstrations. C2. Compounds relating to liquids obtained by distillation or containing volatile compounds extracted by distillation (see sense 23). Often relating specifically to alcoholic spirits used for drinking (sense 23c). a. As a modifier. (a) With the sense ‘that works, acts, etc., by means of (esp. methylated) spirit or spirits’. 1859 9 Apr. 322/2 The elder boys presented to the Rev. J. C. Bagshaw..an elegant silver-plated spirit kettle. 1890 4 Jan. 213/3 An Etna or small spirit kettle, and a bottle of spirits; some tea and a little sugar. 1923 M. Beerbohm 10 His portly form..may be seen bending over the little spirit-kettle. 1960 C. Day Lewis vii. 137 Cake-stand,..heavy silver teapot, spirit-kettle and all. 1997 D. Pollard 25 caption Earliest known work of Boris Peetz: a plated spirit kettle for his travels across Canada in 1911. 1852 17 Jan. 2/3 The Milwaukee Advertiser says that a gentleman of that city has invented a spirit stove, which, while only a foot square, will warm any ordinary sized room. 1895 Kettle and Spirit Stove. 1902 E. Banks 170 One day I thought I'd cook some over my spirit-stove. 2003 N. Slater 235 Crêpes Suzette..hotly followed by brandies warmed over the spirit stoves. 1694 J. Smith 61 (heading) The best Rules for the Ordering and Use Both of the Quick-silver and Spirit Weather-glass. 1736 A. Holden Vindic. Pamphlet intituled Tryal of Spirits 20 in The Mischiefs done the Society by the Spirit Trade, have not arose from Rum and Brandy made from Melasses, but from Malt-Spirits. 1786 57 Holmes, John..Spirit Merchant. 1797 E. Burke 150 The spirit licences kept nearly the same level till the stoppage of the Distilleries in 1795. 1822 J. Galt Gathering of West in Sept. 310/1 The change-wife's gill-stoup is full cousin to the spirit-dealer's gallon-pot. 1846 G. E. Day tr. J. F. Simon II. 186 Spirit-extract, with chloride of sodium. 1938 K. O'Brien (1951) i. 22 Una lighted the spirit-flame under the retort of the coffee machine. 1994 30 37 per cent were from the middling ranks (e.g. surgeons, planters, shopkeepers, spirit dealers, fish cullers, innkeepers). 2013 24 Feb. 4 d/5 More and more people are experimenting with wine beyond spirit drinks. (c) 1766 L. Carter 15 May (1965) I. 299 Filled my Spirit case this day... Quantity: 4 gallons. 1783 3 He..has seen him make his Surveys of Spirit Cellars, of which the Deponent had one. 1835 (1st Sess., 12th Parl.) 1 983/2 I would willingly, if there was any chance of succeeding, include spirit-shops. 1894 Spirit-beck, a beck or vat for containing the spirit in a distillery. 1942 10 Jan. 2/2 Stealing two bottles of whisky, three empty cases, and an empty spirit jar. 2001 R. Kenna (ed. 2) 13 The ‘palace pubs’ of the 1880s, which adopted their mirrors, long bars, and rows of spirit casks. (ii) 1783 8 The Deponent..has often seen him drunk, and fall, on his going to bring his Spirit Bottle to give the Deponent a Dram. 1883 10 Mar. 164/3 The duty on filled wine and spirit bottles remains the same. 1972 G. M. Brown (1976) v. 175 The trunk was crammed with empty spirit bottles of every shape and size. 2016 (Nexis) 18 Nov. Shards of broken spirit bottles have again been found strewn across a stretch of Suffolk road. 1802 5 Aug. (advt.) Powder and Spirit Flasks,..and every other article necessary for the equipment of the Sportsman. 1961 L. G. G. Ramsey 73 Other manifestations of Early Victorian work..were the..spirit flasks formed into the shapes of human figures. 2012 29 127 (caption) Spirit flask engraved with arms of the Netterville crest, Irish, c. 1800. 1821 58 395 Method of making fine light black..which, for distinction from other blacks, they call spirit black. 1827 14 June John Goddard and Alex. Fred. Cope..sugar-refiners, spirit colour-makers, and manufacturers of liquors. 1836 VI. 157/1 Spirit-Colours are brilliant, but fugitive; they consist generally of decoctions of dye-woods, mixed with nitro-muriate or muriate of tin. 1867 R. Hunt (ed. 6) I. 589 1 gallon spirit yellow. 1874 E. H. Knight I. 428/1 Spirit-color printing. 1904 May 380/1 A mahogany red is obtained by giving the wood one application of spirit brown. 1908 H. A. Hare et al. (ed. 2) 185 Aniline Yellow,..Spirit yellow, is used principally as the basis for manufacturing more permanent aniline colors. 1953 A. G. E. Pearse viii. 178 Lillie and Laskey..developed a modified Ciaccio method using formol-calcium fixation followed by Sudan black B or Spirit blue. 1967 J. W. Collier 104 The polisher usually has by him a small stock of spirit-soluble dyes for making up his colours. The following list is usually sufficient for his purposes: Spirit black... Spirit yellow. Spirit green. Spirit blue. 1729 E. Strother 92 Brandy Spirits..will..destroy the Texture of the Blood, and turn it into a Solid, as appears by those Concretions in the Aorta of Spirit-Drinkers. 1744 D. Forbes 10 The Tea and Spirit drinking is high, in proportion as the Brewery is low. 1841 C. Dickens xiii. 8 To be looked upon as a common..spirit-guzzler. 1896 4 Mar. 8/5 Her greatest danger came from the spirit-sellers. 1967 113 644/1 The pattern resembled closely the alcoholism of North America and most spirit-consuming cultures. 1997 J. Hawes (1998) 8 Thirty years of cold, damp, winterbeaten, husband-battered, childbearing, stall-holding, spirit-drinking, tooth-rotting reality count nearly double. 2001 1 Oct. 12 c/1 A single duck flew over, the spirit drinker shot and down came the duck! 1810 J. Lambert II. xxxv. 379 Liquor and many other articles..are retailed at the taverns, and small spirits-shops at an exorbitant rate. 1821 106 This afflicted child that saw the spirits bottle. 1869 20 255 The spirits-drinker will be apt to outlive the wine-bibber. 1916 Jan. 6/2 A reduction of almost 15,000,000 gallons in spirits consumption. 1955 16 June 11/4 (advt.) Designed for use as wines and spirits storage. 2013 (Nexis) 4 Dec. 35 I'm not much of a spirits drinker. d. 1812 8 Self-acting spirit blowpipe. 1872 1 Mar. 98/2 The usual rule has been to expose the coal in a closed crucible to the heat of a gas or spirit blowpipe, and to assume the residue..to contain only carbon, and incombustible matter or ash. 1953 H. R. B. Fenn et al. v. 153 Besides bowls of hot and cold water, a small pin-point flame, either of gas or a spirit blowpipe, will be required. 1791 G. Adams 378 The tube..with the spirit buble, is fixed to the telescope by a joint at one end. 1862 II. xiii. §2947 When the instrument is turned in any direction, the spirit bubble will be kept in the centre of its run. 1916 J. A. L. Waddell II. 2007 A type of hand-level consisting of a small tube with a spirit bubble mounted on the upper side and a refracting prism or a reflector to show the bubble in the field of vision. 2004 A. 86 56/1 The albedometer was mounted on a camera tripod and readings were made in a horizontal (i.e. surface-parallel) plane by means of a spirit bubble. 1936 16 Apr. 65/2 (advt.) On the spirit duplicator, does your present paper require much or little fluid? 1958 24 July 6/6 We came to the spirit duplicators... These machines were rather magical. They duplicated in seven different colours. 2005 J. Davitt i. 9 Ten, 20, and even 30 years ago every school in the land produced a school magazine on the Banda Spirit duplicator or the photocopier. 1810 28 Apr. A Metallic Composition as a substitute for Brass, in forming the Cylinders of Beer and Spirit Engines. 1889 2 Aug. 472/3 The use of petroleum as fuel working a spirit engine. 1901 13 Sept. 1/3 (advt.) Bar Counters, Beer and Spirit Engines,..Tankards, Spirit Barrels. 1986 3 27/2 Alphonse Beau de Rochas..first designed the four-stroke gas or ‘spirit’ engine which has been the basis of the world's motor industry ever since. society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > painting > painting according to medium or technique > [noun] > a mural painting > fresco > types of fresco 1864 F. Leighton in 12 Feb. 203/2 As I am, to the best of my belief, the only professional painter who has worked with Gambier Parry's spirit fresco, it may be convenient to you to refer to my unfinished works at Lyndhurst. 1909 J. Ward 38 The method of painting followed out in the spirit-fresco system..is almost precisely the same as that of the lime or buon-fresco process. 2012 154 56 (caption) The Romans building a fort at Mancenion, A.D. 80, by Ford Madox Brown. 1880. Gambier Parry process of spirit fresco, 146 by 318 cm. 1828 11 Jan. The spirit grocers..were indicted for selling liquor to be consumed on their premises. 1921 ‘I. O.’ xii. 346 Considerable damage was done to property, mainly spirit-grocers and public houses. 2015 23 30/3 When William Wilson, a spirit grocer, was caught at Ballymurphy in 1866 he was fined the maximum of 40/-. society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > make-up > types of 1871 1 Oct. 14/4 (advt.) No actor need fear swallowing his moustache or Whiskers coming off, if they use Clarkson's Spirit Gum. 1977 M. Slosberg iii. 175 I took the small package..from my attaché case. From it I removed a bottle of spirit gum, a full mustache, and a set of..spectacles. 2012 2 Dec. 1/2 Turnwall had a large tuft of white wool glued to his chin with spirit gum, a wooden staff and a throne-worthy chair. the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > glandular disorders > [noun] > disorders of liver 1835 25 July 549/2 The liver was enlarged, indurated, and thickly studded with brown tubercles,..presenting the appearance of what is called ‘gin-and-spirit’ liver.] 1896 H. D. Rolleston & W. J. Fenton in 40 198 The spirit livers appeared to be more frequently fatty. 1778 J. Cook 3 Sept. (1967) III. 447 While we lay here we cleared the Fish room, Spirit room and after hold. 1850 J. Greenwood 143 The spirit-room is built in the hold, next before the fish-room, to contain the spirituous liquors for the use of the ship's company. 1922 B. Lubbock ii. 85 The new pirates lost no time in breaking into the spirit room, and by sunset every man aboard had drunk himself into a stupor. 2014 T. McGrath vii. 204 The crew made the most of their remaining minutes of freedom. They broke into the spirit room and got as drunk as time and supplies permitted. 1871 Oct. 14/2 Dyes... Coralline (Aurins)—Yellow, spirit soluble. 1945 61 327/3 (table) Waxakol. Dyes for colouring waxes, fats and oils; some are also spirit-soluble. 2004 (Axminster Power Tool Centre Ltd.) xiv. 23/2 Refined methylated spirit for mixing with concentrated spirit soluble dyes or used with French polish flakes. 1853 E. K. Kane xxxiv. 297 The cold was becoming more intense: our ship thermometers stood at -32°, my spirit standard at -34°, and my mercurial at -38°. 1904 Rep. Meteorol. Council (Royal Soc.) 17/2 in (Cd. 1880) XVIII. 641 Supply and Stock of Instruments... 1 Spirit Standard Thermometer. 1701 (Royal Soc.) 22 sig. Iiiiii4 A B represents the Spirit-Thermometer, graduated from 0 of the freezing point, through all the possible degrees of the heat or cold of the Air. 1843 J. F. Daniell (ed. 2) 162 A jet of liquid carbonic acid directed upon the bulb of a spirit thermometer will sink it to 130° below 0. 1934 A. H. R. Goldie (rev. ed.) i. 4 The temperature of the air is usually obtained from the readings of mercury or spirit thermometers. 2012 G. Black ii. 252 On the eve of departure, presumably with the aid of a spirit thermometer, someone measured the temperature as forty-four below. 1725 S. Wyld App. 155 Upon this Tellescope is fixed, with two small Screws, the Spirit Tube, and Bubble therein, which Bubble rest exactly in the Middle of the Tube, when the Tellescope is set truly level. 1842 XXII. 359/1 The spirit-tube is used in determining the relative heights of ground at two or more stations. 1908 G. Ellis (ed. 3) xxiv. 398 The same advantages, to a lesser degree, can be obtained by fitting the stock with a small spirit tube. 2005 3 The spirit tube or tubes may be rotatable relative to the beam. society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > painting or coating materials > [noun] > varnish > types of 1738 J. Hoofnail 26 The only Use I found it would be proper for, was to make a transparent Spirit Varnish. 1850 C. Holtzapffel III. 1375 These resins constitute the basis of what are called spirit varnishes. 1944 J. B. Parry in R. Greenhalgh viii. 290/2 Spirit varnishes, including French polish, require a warm, dry atmosphere during application. 1997 J. Beament (2000) x. 200 Some people apply a ground before using spirit varnish. society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > painting or coating materials > [adjective] > varnished or lacquered > specific 1860 15 Dec. 336/1 Coat the spirit-varnished film with some warm gelatine, and stick the piece of paper against it. 1918 59 73/2 A spirit-varnished instrument, no matter how well made, will not last so long as a well-made oil-varnished instrument. 1990 June 489 (advt.) Inlaid purfled & spirit varnished bow. 1765 1 May (advt.) A large substantial Brick Dwelling House divided into two,..together with..Mill-house and Loft, Spirit Vaults, with Iron Doors, situa[t]ed in Barnaby-street, Southwark. 1825 16 Apr. Two fellows went into a spirit vault in the Candlemaker Row, and called for some whisky to drink. 1932 29 July 6/7 In the public-house, Glenburn Spirit Vaults, 59 Stevenston Road, Carfin, he procured exciseable liquor for consumption on the premises by..drunken persons. 1995 24 Feb. (Property Suppl.) Cellar with draught beer coldroom, spirit vault, bottle store, fully equipped catering kitchen. 2009 (Nexis) 25 Apr. 27 We ran a jazz club in The Spirit Vaults in Chippenham in Wiltshire. 1865 Mar. 84/2 From the green fruit or apples [of the potato], when ripe and fermented, a good spirit vinegar can be obtained. 1924 E. LeFevre (U.S. Dept. Agric. Farmers' Bull. No. 1424 5 Molasses, either alone or in combination with grain extracts, is widely used as a basis for making spirit vinegar. 2013 (Nexis) 19 Jan. (Leisure ed.) Here is a detailed account from a reader of an effective method using spirit vinegar to clean her washing machine. C3. In names of animals and plants. See also spirit weed n.1884 II. 493 These..when in flight appear as has been aptly said, like ‘spirit butterflies’, their gauzy wings hardly giving the idea of active life.] 1891 Spirit-butterfly, a tropical American butterfly of the genus Ithomia. the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > subfamily Merginae (duck) > [noun] > genus Bucephala > bucephala albeola (bufflehead) 1785 T. Pennant II. ii. 558 Spirit Duck... Inhabits North America, from Hudson's Bay to Carolina. 1831 W. Swainson & J. Richardson II. 437 They [sc. Clangula vulgaris and albeola]..dive so dexterously at the flash of the gun..that the natives say they are endowed with some supernatural power. Hence their appellation of ‘Conjuring’ or ‘Spirit Ducks’. 1925 A. C. Bent in (1993) 6 Dec. 24/2 The propriety of applying the name ‘spirit duck’ to this sprightly little duck will be appreciated by anyone who has watched it in its natural surroundings. 1957 P. L. Errington ii. 14 Another name for the bufflehead is spirit duck. the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Acanthaceae (acanthus) > [noun] 1696 H. Sloane 52 Gentianella flore cœruleo integro vasculo seminali ex humidi contractu impatiente... Spirit leaf. 1794 in H. Barham (index) Vulnerary,..Semper vive, Spirit-leaf, Tobacco, Tooth-wort, [etc.]. 1864 A. H. R. Grisebach 787/2 Spirit-leaf, Ruellia tuberosa. 1967 F. G. Cassidy & R. B. Le Page Spirit-leaf.., the common plant Ruellia tuberosa, whose pods burst when wet (whence perh the element ‘spirit-’). 1692 L. Plukenet iii. Pl. CCXV Pneumato xylum Arbor baccifera..Barbadensibus Spirit-wood vocata. 1716 i. 259 Spirit-wood,..Pneumatoxylum. 1852 J. P. Knox 231 Ægiphila trifida Sw. Spirit Wood. 1979 79 83 Spirit wood = Aegiphila elata Sw. Derivatives 1848 P. J. Bailey (ed. 3) 309 Thou shalt perceive earth spirit-wise. 1960 C. Bukowski Let. 22 July in C. Bukowski & S. Martinelli (2001) 64 Thanx for bread. Spiritwise I don't think anything better has happened to me for sometime [sic]. 2007 7 Nov. a18/3 He was big, spiritwise, and he loved to play practical jokes on my mother. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2020; most recently modified version published online December 2022). spiritv. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: spirit n. Etymology: < spirit n. Compare earlier spirited adj.Compare Spanish espiritar (early 16th cent., earliest in espiritado possessed by a spirit). 1. the mind > emotion > excitement > exciting > excite [verb (transitive)] the mind > will > motivation > motivate [verb (transitive)] > incite or instigate > bring about by incitement 1598 G. Chapman sig. C2v Loue deckes the countenance, speriteth the eye, And tunes the soule in sweetest harmony. a1652 J. Smith (1660) ix. 393 There is a living Soul of Religion in Good men which..spirits all the Wheels of motion. 1679 J. Goodman ii. ii. 187 Hope and apprehension of feasibleness spirits all industry, actuates all faculties, raises the spirits. 1712 J. Addison No. 482. ¶2 She is forced..to spirit him up now and then, that he may not grow musty, and unfit for Conversation. 1759 16 Spirited with this advantage, he pushed onwards. 1811 J. Austen II. viii. 141 Well, I shall spirit up the Colonel as soon as I can. View more context for this quotation 1851 Feb. 100 Let the song of faith spirit thee for the fight of faith. 1927 23 13 Inspired by classic models and spirited by the growing popularity of Bernini,..Algardi began to think in monumental terms. 1945 Sept. 70 When spirited with the light of some memorable event..it [sc. the sonnet] may indeed, as in the hands of Milton, become a ‘trumpet’. 2005 35 309 Spirited by the progressive belief that students should perform the laboratory experiments themselves, instructors argued for..a new space. the mind > will > motivation > motivate [verb (transitive)] > incite or instigate > bring about by incitement a1680 S. Charnock (1682) 826 It is not to spirit rebellion, but to give a merciful stop to it. 1701 J. Swift iii. 38 Civil Dissensions never fail of introducing and spiriting the Ambition of private Men. 1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch II. 181 He determined to spirit up a cruel war against them from some neighbouring nation. 1925 66 990/1 She exerted all her influence to spirit up a new opposition against him. 1996 4 60/4 A hard core successively evaded interception and tried in vain to spirit up rebellion elsewhere. the mind > will > motivation > motivate [verb (transitive)] > incite or instigate > urge on or incite > by encouragement 1682 ‘T. Rationalis’ 30 Give Nature a Phillip with two or three quarts of Mum, to spirit them on for any Attempt. 1751 T. Smollett III. lxxxviii. 169 He was encouraged by his mercenary associate, who..spirited him on to this gallant enterprize. 1792 F. Burney 2 Oct. I wish to spirit him on to collect them [sc. notes] into a pamphlet. 1840 C. S. M. Bury II. vi. 197 What was labour to me when my cousin James was at hand to spirit me on? 1889 25 May 410/2 The cheering effects of kind regard and encouragement have spirited me on. 1913 Mar. 27/1 Spirit them on as you take them into your confidence and they will then stay with your house. 1968 1 323 Hogarth cannot have failed to know what his friends Ralph and Ellys were up to and surely must have spirited them on. 2018 (Nexis) 13 Feb. Spirited on by this early lead, Kendal kept their attack going and refused to give Preston time to play in their half of the pitch. the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > carry on vigorously [verb (transitive)] > make lively > specifically a thing 1600 W. Shakespeare iii. v. 21 And shall our quick blood spirited with wine Seeme frosty? 1644 in S. Hartlib (1655) 221 The blood being..spirited with subtle Nitre or Gunpowder, it..is distributed through the body. 1664 J. Newburgh in J. Evelyn Pomona in 43 Mustard made with sack preserves boiled Cider, and spirits it egregiously. 1822 J. M. Good I. 443 We find it [sc. the blood] returned from the lungs spirited with newness of life. 3. the world > life > source or principle of life > vital principle > impart vital principle [verb (transitive)] 1606 W. Hubbock sig. ¶2v Hath hee not spirited her againe with a fresh life, and made her the daughter of a ioyfull resurrection. 1642 R. Cudworth Introd. 2 There is ever some Soule of Truth, which doth secretly Spirit and Enliven the dead and unweildy Lump of all Errours, without which it could not move or stirre. 1994 16 102 It's not the body alone that moves me. It's how she inhabits it, how she spirits it. the mind > mental capacity > disposition or character > shape inclinations of, dispose [verb (transitive)] 1606 W. Hubbock sig. C3v The creature..lifteth vp his head for the day of redemption, spirited with a feeling of your preseruer. 1654 J. Owen v. 113 The first great Promise of Christ..is that which Spirits and principles all other promises whatsoever. 1680 W. Temple Surv. Constit. of Empire in (1731) I. 107 In all these Wars the People were both united and spirited by the common Love of their Country. 1721 R. Keith tr. Thomas à Kempis Valley of Lilies xxxiii, in tr. Thomas à Kempis II. 105 The holy Spirit, who..taught him, and spirited him, and adorned his whole Life with Virtues. 1741 W. Oldys et al. i. 21 They had warm Disputes behind the Scenes, which spirited the Rivals with..a natural Resentment to each other. 1984 59 710 Ockham's nominalist or terminist logic is spirited by a specific theological purpose. the mind > will > motivation > persuasion > persuade (a person) [verb (transitive)] > win over 1656 J. Hammond 6 I shall abhor to spirit over any; but go along with such as are voluntarily desirous to go thither. 1685 F. Spence tr. A. Varillas 412 The Duke d'Urbino was upon the point of ruining it to all Intents, when the Pope renew'd the design of spiriting o're his Troops. 5. Frequently, and now usually, with adverb or adverbial phrase (introduced by out of, off, etc.) indicating movement. Esp. in to spirit away. the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > kidnapping or abduction > kidnap or abduct [verb (transitive)] the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > kidnapping or abduction > kidnap or abduct [verb (transitive)] > into slavery 1657 in J. C. Jeaffreson (1888) III. 259 Thou art a spirit, thou hast spirited a maide to the Barbardoes. 1693 I. Mather 18 A Servant, who was Spirited or Kidnapt (as they call it) Into America. 1749 H. Fielding I. i. ix. 49 Some..insinuated, that she was spirited away with a Design too black to be mentioned. View more context for this quotation 1769 W. Blackstone IV. 219 In the civil law, the offence of spiriting away and stealing men and children..was punished with death. 1820 W. Scott I. iv. 134 She was sensible that he would have neither scruple nor difficulty in spiriting away the child. 1883 11 592 The prosecutor had spirited away..the sister of the accused person, and had shut her up in a convent. 1940 R. Wright ii. 168 The Reds say you're charging 'em with spiriting away the old man's daughter. the world > movement > transference > [verb (transitive)] > convey or transport > off or away > by spirits 1667 R. L'Estrange tr. F. de Quevedo viii. 314 I am not such and Awfe as to be Trepan'd, and spirited away by Devils with Tails, Horns, Bristles, Wings. 1678 3 Mr. Uniack demanded if she could give them any account of a Gentleman..that had been Spirited out of their Company [by fairies] about an hour before. 1825 J. Neal I. ix. 253 Peters had been..spirited away in a thunderstorm.., by his Master—the Evil One. 1839 W. Irving Legend of Communipaw in Oct. 344 Others jocosely hinted, that old Pluto..had spirited away the boy to the nether regions. 1889 J. M. Barrie xi. 102 It was thocht next mornin' 'at the ghost had spirited them awa. 1920 Apr. 323 Each piece left where last put down, as though the user had been suddenly spirited away by some bad fairy. 1932 T. E. Lawrence tr. Homer (1992) i. 7 But the Gods saw fit to order it quite otherwise when they spirited him away with an utterness beyond example. 1987 C. Glass & A. Weller 217 Evil spirits like ghosts and wardafees would catch us and spirit us away. 2000 Winter 191 Hylas..is spirited away by a water nymph. the world > movement > transference > [verb (transitive)] > convey or transport > off or away > mysteriously 1696 C. Leslie Pref. p. cclxii Their Spiriting away the Letter of the Promised Seed. 1726 W. Penn (ed. 7) xiii. §14 An Enemy to the State, for he [sc. the miser] spirits their Money away. 1794 W. Godwin I. ix. 190 There is no Mrs. Jakeman now to spirit you away. 1837 T. Carlyle I. v. i. 223 Leading men from all the Three Orders are nightly spirited thither. 1858 R. S. Surtees xlv. 199 He..seemed to spirit the things off the table without sound or effort. 1943 2 126 This wolf in sheep's clothing took the bell himself and spirited it off to the sheep ranch where he used it to call the ranch people to dinner. 1988 M. Forster Introd. p. xiii Robert Browning courted, married and secretly spirited her away to Italy. 1990 (BNC) Nov. Jane is an abductee, someone who believes they have been forcibly abducted by aliens, spirited up to spaceships and physically experimented on in various alarming ways. 2004 May 84/2 They appear as if they have been spirited away from some long-forgotten Lilliputian civilisation. 1944 G. Santayana xv. 226 He might have been a sort of magic dragoman in my service, spiriting up the scenes and spiriting away the deficits. 1994 18 Sept. c 3/1 The sheriff's legal right to spirit up a posse of local worthies derives from America's frontier days. 2014 C. Sandy 261 ‘Jonas!.. Come in!’ She spirited up an empty chair. the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > inform or give a thing its essence [verb (transitive)] > deprive of essence or quintessence 1677 J. Lake & S. Drake in J. Cleveland Ep. Ded. sig. A4 Yet how many such Authors must be creamed and spirited to make up his Fuscara? 7. Usually in passive. the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > treating or processing textile fabric > treat or process textile fabric [verb (transitive)] > other processes 1854 T. Love ii. 144 This work having been cleaned well in good soap liquor, spirited, and rinsed, put it on three different pegs to drain. 1883 R. Haldane 2nd Ser. 145 Worsted-and-Cotton Damasks,..after being spirited and rinsed,..must have a water starch to make them look strong and well when finished. 1872 11 May 75/2 It is then ‘spirited off’, that is, instead of using polish, spirit is used with a little linseed oil. 1881 24 June 373/3 Proceed to body-up with white polish,..then spirit off. 1934 J. V. Howe I. xii. 171/2 If the work shows a uniformly even surface, it may be ‘spirited off’. This is done with alcohol and the rubber you used to polish with. 2001 D. Waring & D. Raymond 92/2 Any oil residue is ‘spirited off’ with a quick wipe of a cloth with a little alcohol on it. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2020; most recently modified version published online March 2022). <  n.a1325 v.1598 |
