animism

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“
The term animism is derived from the Latin anima_, which--like the corresponding word spiritus_, whence our "spirit"--signifies the breath, and hence the soul, which primitive folk tend to identify with the breath.

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Definitions (8)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun The belief in the existence of individual spirits that inhabit natural objects and phenomena.
  2. noun The belief in the existence of spiritual beings that are separable or separate from bodies.
  3. noun The hypothesis holding that an immaterial force animates the universe.

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Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (50)

  • However, they all have their roots in animism, which is still seen in all of greater Polynesia. —  shanghai fish
  • British author James Lovelock's Gaia Hypothesis - that the Earth itself functions as a living organism - echoes a sort of idolatrous animism, a religion of nature. —  OmniNerd
  • Traditional worldviews / traditional behavior - I am taking this as animism, the set of such religions which ought not be categorized as borderline. —  Citizendium, the Citizens' Compendium - Recent changes [en]
  • Bloom, who has studied the development of morality in children in the context of religion, believes that there are three foundations for religion: creationism, animism - the belief that all sorts of things are intentional and alive - and common-sense dualism - or the belief that a divide exists between the mind and body. —  Yale Daily News: Latest Issue
  • Traditional religions include concepts such as monotheism, animism, vitalism, spirit and ancestor worship, witchcraft and sorcery, and vary widely among ethnic groups; none is formalized.
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. From Latin anima, soul; see anə- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. = French animisme; from Latin anima, soul (see anima), + -ism.
 

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/ˈænɪmɪzm/
by American Heritage

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