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Animism

 - 6 dictionary results

an⋅i⋅mism

  [an-uh-miz-uhm]
Use Animism in a Sentence
–noun
1. the belief that natural objects, natural phenomena, and the universe itself possess souls.
2. the belief that natural objects have souls that may exist apart from their material bodies.
3. the doctrine that the soul is the principle of life and health.
4. belief in spiritual beings or agencies.
Origin:
1825–35; < L anim(a) (see anima ) + -ism

Related forms:
an⋅i⋅mist, adjective
an⋅i⋅mis⋅tic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Animism
an·i·mism   (ān'ə-mĭz'əm)   
n.  

  1. The belief in the existence of individual spirits that inhabit natural objects and phenomena.

  2. The belief in the existence of spiritual beings that are separable or separate from bodies.

  3. The hypothesis holding that an immaterial force animates the universe.


[From Latin anima, soul; see anə- in Indo-European roots.]
an'i·mist n., an'i·mis'tic adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

animism [(an-uh-miz-uhm)]

The belief that natural objects such as rivers and rocks possess a soul or spirit. Anima is the Latin word for “soul” or “spirit.” (See voodoo.)


animism [(an-uh-miz-uhm)]

The belief, common among so-called primitive people, that objects and natural phenomena, such as rivers, rocks, and wind, are alive and have feelings and intentions. Animistic beliefs form the basis of many cults. (See also fetish and totemism.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

animism 
1866, reintroduced by Sir Edward Burnett Taylor, who defined it (1871) as the "theory of the universal animation of nature," from L. anima "life, breath, soul." Earlier sense was of "doctrine that animal life is produced by an immaterial soul" (1832), from Ger. Animismus, coined c.1720 by physicist/chemist Georg Ernst Stahl (1660-1734) based on the concept of the anima mundi (q.v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: an·i·mism
Pronunciation: 'an-&-"miz-&m
Function: noun
1 : a doctrine that the vital principle of organicdevelopment is immaterial spirit
2 : attribution of conscious life to nature or natural objects —an·i·mist /-m&st/ noun —an·i·mis·tic /"an-&-'mis-tik/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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