9 results for: animism

(Browse Nearby Entries)

animatronic

animatronics

anime

Animi

ANIMIDA

animis opibusque par…

animise

animism

Animist

Animistic

animize

ANIMMC

ANIMO

Animose

Animoseness

Animosities

Animosity

animus

animus furandi

animus testandi

ANINI

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

an·i·mism

Audio Help [an-uh-miz-uh

–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 (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
animism

To learn more about animism visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

an·i·mism Audio Help (ān'ə-mĭz'əm) Pronunciation Key
n.

The belief in the existence of individual spirits that inhabit natural objects and phenomena.
The belief in the existence of spiritual beings that are separable or separate from bodies.
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.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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.).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

animism
noun
the doctrine that all natural objects and the universe itself have souls; "animism is common among primitive peoples"

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
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.)

[Chapter:] World Literature, Philosophy, and Religion

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
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.)

[Chapter:] Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Main Entry: an·i·mism
Pronunciation: 'an-&-"miz-&m
Function: noun
1 : a doctrine that the vital principle of organic development 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

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Animism

An"i*mism\, n. [Cf. F. animisme, fr. L. anima soul. See Animate.]

1. The doctrine, taught by Stahl, that the soul is the proper principle of life and development in the body.

2. The belief that inanimate objects and the phenomena of nature are endowed with personal life or a living soul; also, in an extended sense, the belief in the existence of soul or spirit apart from matter. --Tylor.

View results from: Dictionary | Thesaurus | Encyclopedia | All Reference | the Web