| 释义 |
▪ I. spirit, n.|ˈspɪrɪt|
Forms: α. 3– spirit, 4–6 -ite, 4–5 -itt, 4, 6 spiryte, 5 spiryt, 9 dial. spirut; 4–6 spyrite, 5 -itte, -id, -ut, -ete, 5–6 -it, 4–5 spyryt, 5–6 -yte. β. 5 sperete, -ite, 5–6 speryt, 5, 7, 9 sperit, 9 sperrit. See also spirt, spright, and sprite.
[a. AF. spirit (espirit), spirite, = OF. esperit, -ite, esprit (mod.F. esprit), or ad. L. spīritus (It. spirito, Pg. espirito, Sp. espiritu) breathing, breath, air, etc., related to spīrāre to breathe.
Mod.F. has also spirite in the sense of ‘spiritualist’. In G., Da., and Sw. the L. form spiritus occurs, chiefly in sense 21.
The earlier English uses of the word are mainly derived from passages in the Vulgate, in which spiritus is employed to render Gr. πνεῦµα pneuma and Heb. rūaḥ. The translation of these words by spirit (or one of its variant forms) is common to all versions of the Bible from Wyclif onwards.]
I.
1. a. The animating or vital principle in man (and animals); that which gives life to the physical organism, in contrast to its purely material elements; the breath of life.
In some examples with implication of other senses.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 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. 1340Ayenb. 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. 1382Wyclif Eccl. iii. 21 Who kneȝ, if the spirit of the sonus of Adam steȝe vp aboue, and if the spirit of bestis go doun bynethe? 1582N. T. (Rhem.) Jas. ii. 26 For euen as the bodie without the spirit is dead: so also faith without workes is dead. 1611Bible Wisd. xvi. 14 The spirit when it is gone foorth returneth not; neither the soule receiued vp, commeth againe. 1667Milton P.L. x. 784 Least that pure breath of Life, the Spirit of Man,..cannot together perish With this corporeal Clod. 1728Chambers Cycl. s.v. Person, Thus, a Man, tho' consisting of two very different Things, viz. Body and Spirit, is not two Persons. 1850Tennyson In Mem. lvi, The spirit does but mean the breath. 1853Abp. Thomson Laws Th. (ed. 3) 61 When the breath is exhaled the spirit remains immortal.
transf.1382Wyclif John vi. 64 The wordis that I haue spokun to ȝou, ben spirit and lyf. 1712J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 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.
b. In phrases denoting or implying diminution or cessation of the vital power, or the recovery of this. Also transf., life-blood.
In various Biblical passages used with reference to profound discouragement, or recovery from this: cf. sense 13.
a1300Cursor M. 12075 And sone þe spirit þat was fledd Again come in þat ilk stede. 1382Wyclif Luke viii. 55 And her spirit turnyde aȝeyn, and sche roos anon. Ibid. xxiii. 46 And he seyinge thes things, sente out the spirit [v.r. ȝaf vp the goost], ether diede. a1425tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula, etc. 38 Neþerlesse þai may..moue almost to þe breþing out of þe spirit. 1606Shakes. Ant. & Cl. iv. xv. 58 Now my Spirit is going, I can no more. 1611Bible Judg. xv. 19 When he had drunke, his spirit came againe, and he reuiued. 1720Pope Iliad xviii. 120 Let me revenge it on proud Hector's heart, Let his last spirit smoke upon my dart.
transf.1595Shakes. John iv. i. 110 There is no malice in this burning cole, The breath of heauen, hath blowne his spirit out.
c. In contexts relating to temporary separation of the immaterial from the material part of man's being, or to perception of a purely intellectual character. Chiefly in phr. in spirit.
1382Wyclif Rev. iv. 2 Anoon I was in spirit, and lo! a seete was put in heuen, and on the seete oon sittinge. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xiv. 61 In spirit he was rauischt intill heuen, whare he sawe heuenly priuetez. c1440Alph. Tales 451 He was ravisshid his spyrid fro his body vnto Pasch day. 1582N.T. (Rhem.) Rev. i. 10, I was in spirit on the Dominical day. 1667Milton P.L. xi. 406 In Spirit perhaps he also saw Rich Mexico.., And Cusco in Peru. 1850Tennyson In Mem. xvii, For I in spirit saw thee move Thro' circles of the bounding sky.
d. Incorporeal or immaterial being, as opposed to body or matter; being or intelligence conceived as distinct from, or independent of, anything physical or material. (Cf. mind n.1 17 f.)
1382Wyclif John iii. 6 That that is born of spirit, is spirit. 1611Bible Isaiah xxxi. 3 Now the Egyptians are men and not God, and their horses flesh and not spirit. 1690Locke Hum. Und. ii. xxiii. (1695) 164 The primary Ideas we have peculiar to Body, as contradistinguished to Spirit. Ibid., The Ideas we have belonging, and peculiar to Spirit, are Thinking, and Will. 1725Watts Logic (1736) 23 Modes belong either to Body or to Spirit, or to both... Modes of Spirit belong only to Minds. 1832Brewster Nat. Magic ii. 10 The sentinel which guards the pass between the worlds of matter and of spirit. 1845Bailey Festus (ed. 2) 39 Spirit is soul Deified. 1898Illingworth Div. Immanence i. 5 If matter and spirit are thus only known in combination, it follows that neither can be completely known.
2. a. The soul of a person, as commended to God, or passing out of the body, in the moment of death.
c1375Sc. Leg. Saints i. (Peter) 730 And þis he ȝalde þe spyrit, of god in-to þe halde. 1382Wyclif Luke xxiii. 46 Fadir, in to thi hondis I bitake my spirit. 1509Fisher Funeral Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. (1876) 309 Sone after..she departed & yelded vp her spyryte in to the handes of our lorde. 1582N. T. (Rhem.) Acts vii. 59 They stoned Steuen..saying: Lord Iesus, receiue my spirit. 1611Bible Luke xxiii. 46 Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. 1825Scott Betrothed Concl., If you come to announce the doom of this poor frame, may God be gracious to the spirit which must be violently dismissed from it!
b. The disembodied soul of a (deceased) person, regarded as a separate entity; = soul n. 12.
1375Barbour Bruce iv. 757 The Pithones..Rasit, throu hyr mekill slycht, samuell['s] sperit. 1426Lydgate De Guil. Pilgr. 11960 To the body a spyryt spak,..The spyryt in the weye stood; The body..hong on a tre. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 7 All the holy sayntes that ben saued, and also the damned spirytes in hell. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 115 There by a signe made, he sheweth that he is the spirite of her. 1611Bible Heb. xii. 23 To the generall assembly,..and to the spirits of iust men made perfect. 1632Milton Penseroso 88 Where I may..unsphear The spirit of Plato. 1741–2Gray Agrippina 14 'Twould dash his joy To hear the spirit of Britannicus Yet walks on earth. 1790Cowper Mother's Picture 23 Hover'd thy spirit o'er thy sorrowing son, Wretch even then, life's journey just begun? 1819Shelley Cenci iv. i. 93 Her spirit shall approach the throne of God Plague-spotted with my curses. 1840Hood Open Question 145 Spirit of Kant! have we not had enough To make Religion sad, and sour, and snubbish.
fig.1742Young Nt. Th. ii. 180 The spirit walks of ev'ry day deceas'd.
3. a. A supernatural, incorporeal, rational being or personality, usually regarded as imperceptible at ordinary times to the human senses, but capable of becoming visible at pleasure, and freq. conceived as troublesome, terrifying, or hostile to mankind.
a1300Cursor M. 17288 + 449 Spirit has nauther flesch ne bone, as I now haf sothtly. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 8072 We fynde writen..Of swylk manere of spyrites; Bytwyxte þe mone & þe erþe þei wone. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 279 We haveþ i-lerned of Socrates, þat was alway tendaunt to a spirit þat was i-cleped demon. 1422tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 143 This Spyritte that al thy workys seyth ande parcewyth. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour F j, His wyf..sayd it was the fende or elles the goblyn or somme spyryte. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 116 After that Luthers doctrine was spred abroad and knowen, those spirites..vanyshed cleane out of syght. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. i. 52, I can call Spirits from the vastie Deepe. 1610― Temp. i. ii. 409 What, is't a Spirit?.. Beleeue me sir, It carries a braue forme. But 'tis a spirit. 1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. 76 The conceit is excellent, and if the effect would follow somwhat divine, whereby we might communicate like spirits. 1667Milton P.L. i. 423 For Spirits when they please Can either Sex assume, or both. 1721Young Revenge iii. i, Shut close the doors, That not a spirit find an entrance here. 1731–8Swift Polite Conv. 110, I saw some thing in black, I thought it was a Spirit. 1799Wordsw. Nutting 54 With gentle hand Touch—for there is a spirit in the woods. 1841Browning Pippa Passes Poems (1905) 175 As if God bade some spirit plague a world. 1897M. Kingsley W. Africa 479 The spirit is malevolent: all native-made spirits are. 1902J. M. Robertson Hist. Christianity 71 Mithra..being the first of the seven planetary spirits on whose names the week was based.
fig.1850Tennyson In Mem. cii, As down the garden⁓walks I move, Two spirits of a diverse love Contend for loving masterdom.
transf.1860Tyndall Glac. i. ii. 22 We had, in fact, the Spirit of the Brocken before us.
b. With qualifying terms, as evil, familiar, guardian, wicked, etc.
c1340Hampole Prose Treat. 5 For thare may na wykked spyrite noye þare Ihesu es mekyll in mynde. c1380Wyclif Last Age Ch. (1840) 34 Alas, þat no good spiryt dwellid wiþ me at my comynge into Goddis Chirche. 1382― 1 Sam. xxviii. 7 There is a womman hauynge a dyuynynge spirite in Endore. 1508–[see damned ppl. a. 2]. a1536Songs, Carols, etc. 69 Þe sperytis infernall, all þe hole rowte. 1555–[see evil a. 3 b]. 1565–[see familiar a. 2 d]. 1582N.T. (Rhem.) Heb. i. 14 Are they not al ministring spirits? 1611Bible 1 Tim. iv. 1 Giuing heed to seducing spirits. 1676Charge in Office of Clerk of Assize 101 If any person have..employed any wicked spirit, to any intent or purpose whatsoever. 1711[see guardian 6 b]. 1785C. Wilkins tr. Bhaguat-Gheeta 68 The evil spirits are terrified. 1827Scott Highl. Widow v, The days and hours when the wicked spirits were supposed to have especial power over man and beast. 1860Pusey Min. Proph. 30 It has been thought that the evil spirits assault mankind in a sort of order or method.
transf.1581G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. i. (1586) 38 The more they are in prosperitie, the more they are beset with Flatterers,..whereof it commeth that Princes are euer besieged by these euill spirites.
c. A being of this nature imagined as possessing and actuating a person.
1382Wyclif Matt. viii. 16 Thei brouȝte to hym many hauynge deuelys, and he castide out spiritis by word. 1382― Acts xvi. 16 Sum wench hauynge a spirit of dyuynacioun. 1546Langley Pol. Verg. de Invent. i. xviii. 33 To banish the Spirit out of y⊇ Demoniake. 1651[see possess v. 5 b]. 1711Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) III. 117 He had been seiz'd with this prophesying spirit-errant, processional, and saltant. 1728Chambers Cycl., Demoniac,..a Person possess'd with a Spirit, or Demon. 1850[see possess v. 5].
d. In generalized sense: A being essentially incorporeal or immaterial.
c1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 3022 Bot now may som..aske how þe saul may fele payne, þat es noght elles bot a spirit. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 502 Hit is heresye to trowe þat Crist is a spiryt and no body. 1382― John iv. 24 God is a spirit. 1653Binning Serm. 9 Angels and men next to God, are spirits, as He is a Spirit. a1703Burkitt On N.T., John iv. 24 God..is not a bare spiritual substance, but a pure and perfect Spirit. 1710Berkeley Princ. Hum. Knowl. i. §6 In my mind, or in that of some other created spirit..or of some eternal spirit. 1876J. Parker Paracl. i. i. 9 Man has a body, but he is a spirit.
4. With the and qualifying term, denoting some particular being of the above nature.
1375Barbour Bruce iv. 758 [She raised] in his sted þe euill spirit Þat gaf grath ansueir hir to. a1425Cursor M. 170 (Trin.), Iesu..Was temptide with þe spirit of wronge. c1440Alph. Tales 281 Þer was ane hermett þat was tempid with þe spiritt of blasfemyng.
1797Coleridge This Lime-tree Bower my Prison 42 Such hues As veil the Almighty Spirit, when He makes Spirits perceive his presence. 1836Penny Cycl. VI. 208/2 The Indians..consider it as the dwelling of the Great Spirit, or ‘Manitou’. 1842Lytton Zicci 2 The Evil Spirit is pulling you towards him by the hair.
5.
†a. One who kidnaps; an abductor. Obs.
1645Whitelocke Mem. (1682) 140/1 An Ordinance agains such who are called Spirits, and use to steal away, and take up children. 1686Lond. Gaz. No. 2532/1 The frequent Abuses of a lewd sort of People, called spirits, in Seducing many of His Majesties Subjects to go on Shipboard [etc.]. 1690J. Child Disc. Trade 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.
b. Printing. (See quots.)
1683Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing 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. 1888Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 129 Spirit, the evil genius of a chapel.
c. (See quot.)
1825in Drewitt Bombay in Days Geo. IV (1907) 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.
d. ellipt. The spirit duck.
1784Pennant Arct. Zool. II. 558 Called sometimes the Spirit, as is supposed, from its suddenly appearing again at a distance, after diving.
II.
6. a. the Spirit of God (or the Lord), the active essence or essential power of the Deity, conceived as a creative, animating, or inspiring influence.
13..Cursor M. 7106 (Gott.), Sampson slou þat leon kene, Þe spirit of godd in him was sene. 1382Wyclif Isaiah lxi. 1 The spirit of the Lord [is] vp on me. ― 1 Cor. ii. 11 What thingis ben of God, no man knowith, no but the spirit of God. 1582N.T. (Rhem.) Eph. iv. 30 And contristate not the holy Spirit of God. 1604Hieron Wks. I. 480 Were these inuented by Gods Spirit Or found you them in holy writ? 1667in Cath. Rec. Soc. Publ. III. 70 One of those..happy trees vnto which the spirit of God compares a iust man. 1841Trench Parab. xiii. 220 The informing Spirit of God which prompts the works and quickens the faith. 1875Manning Mission H. Ghost i. 1 The Spirit of the Lord is God the Holy Ghost.
b. the Holy Spirit = Holy Ghost 1.
a1300Cursor M. 19415 (Edinb.), Þe hali spirite oute of him spac. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints x. (Matthew) 130 Eftyre cristis ascencione, þe haly spyrit of criste come done. c1420Prymer 40 Take þou not fro me þin hooli spirit. 1549Bk. Com. Prayer, Ord. Priests, Laude and praise be to the father,..And to the holy spirite. 1639, etc. [see procession n. 4]. 1709Watts Hymn, ‘Come, Holy Spirit’ i, Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove. 1881N.T. (R.V.) Matt. i. 18 The Holy Ghost. marg. Or, Holy Spirit: and so throughout this book. 1898Chavasse Litton's Ch. Christ 18 Those who by the Holy Spirit have been convinced of sin.
c. the Spirit = prec. In Christian charismatic groups: baptism in (of, etc.) the Spirit (and similar phrases), an experience subsequent to conversion and water-baptism, usually evidenced by speaking in tongues (see quot. 19722): in allusion to Mark i. 8 and parallel passages; to receive the Spirit, to experience conversion, evidenced by speaking in tongues; to sing in the Spirit, to sing in a language apparently unknown to the singer (cf. I Cor. xiv. 15); so song in the Spirit; the Spirit moves me: see move v. 11.
1382Wyclif Mark i. 12 Anon the Spirit puttide [Vulg. expulit] hym in to desert. a1400N.T. (Paues) Rom. viii. 26 Þe Spirit also helpeþ oure infirmyte. c1520M. Nisbet John i. 32, I saw the spirit cummande doun as a dow fra heuen. 1546Gardiner Declar. Joye 88 Baptisme y⊇ sacrament of birth of y⊇ spirite, as ye speake, in newe englyssh, and of the holly goost as the olde english turned it. a1619M. Fotherby Atheom. ii. xii. §2 (1622) 337 With diuine accents, tuning rarely right, Vnto the rapting Spirit, the rapted spright. 1679Establ. Test 24 If the Spirit moves, he can disgorge himself against the Priests of Baal, the Hirelings. 1822Shelley Chas. I, ii. 223 The apostolic power with which the Spirit Has filled its elect vessels. 1865T. T. Carter in Oxford Lent Sermons xiii. 198 Within this new dispensation of the Spirit there is a specially sacred Presence of our Lord. 1896R. A. Torrey Baptism with Holy Spirit 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. 1902Christian 11 Dec. 13/1 If we are born again, we have received the Spirit once for all. 1903R. C. Morgan Outpoured Spirit viii. 53 By coming unto Jesus..as members of the Spirit-baptized Church. 1909T. B. Barratt In Days of Latter Rain 98 One who is filled with the Spirit..gets visions, prophesies, sings in the Spirit, staggers under the overwhelming weight of the Glory. 1932C. E. Raven Creator Spirit iv. 113 It is just as much within this one order that the Spirit works in creation as in those fuller manifestations which we call the Incarnation and Atonement. 1941D. Gee Pentecostal Movement i. 7 For the individual recipient of the baptism in the Spirit it is subsequent to..regeneration. 1948L. W. Brown in M. Warren Triumph of God vi. 154 There are..those who maintain that no man has truly received the Spirit unless he has spoken with tongues. 1964N. Bloch-Hoell Pentecostal Movement 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. Ibid., 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. 1972S. Tugwell (title) Did you receive the Spirit? 1972R. A. Wilson tr. Hollenweger's Pentecostals 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. 1977G. W. H. Lampe God as Spirit 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.
d. So the Spirit of truth or † verity, etc.
1382Wyclif John xiv. 17 He schal ȝyue to ȝou another coumfortour, the spirit of treuthe. a1533Frith Answ. More L ij b, That spiryte of veryte whiche is sent from God our Father through our sauyour.., to lyghten our darke ignoraunce. 1551Bible John xv. 26 When the comforter is come,..whiche is the spirite of truthe. 1819J. Montgomery Hymn, ‘Lord God the Holy Ghost’ iii, Spirit of Light, explore And chase our gloom away.
7. a. The active or essential principle or power of some emotion, frame of mind, etc., as operating on or in persons.
1382Wyclif 2 Tim. i. 7 God ȝaf not to vs the spirit of drede, but of vertu, and of loue, and sobrenesse. c1400Love Bonavent. Mirr. (1908) 61 Knowynge hym by the spirit of prophecie. 1551Bible Isaiah xix. 14 The Lorde hathe made Egypte droncken wyth the spirite of erroure, and they shall vse it. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 129 One of them, as though he were moved with the spirite of prophecie, runeth up and downe the citie. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. v. iv. 55 The gentle spirit of mouing words. 1601― Twel. N. i. i. 9 O spirit of Loue, how quicke and fresh art thou. 1675Owen Indwelling Sin (1732) i. 3 The effectual Power of the Spirit of Grace. 1705in Buccleuch Pap. (Mont. Ho.) I. 354 The spirit of lying runs away with more torrys than ever I had the honour to know. 1779Mirror No. 18, The dark and gloomy spirit of fanaticism, which prevailed so universally..during the last century. 1820Belzoni Egypt & Nubia iii. 326 The spirit of contradiction excited by the illiberality of travellers. 1855Prescott Philip II, ii. v. (1857) 247 The spirit of independence was fostered by the institutions of the country. 1872Morley Voltaire (1886) 250 A momentary self-indulgence in the spirit of party.
b. With a: A tendency, inclination, impulse, etc., of a specified kind.
1388Wyclif Isaiah xix. 14 The Lord meddlid a spirit of errour in the myddis therof. c1430Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 9 God the ffulfylle withe intelligence, And withe a spyrut of goostly sapience. Ibid., God send [thee] also..A spiryt..Of connyng. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, v. ii. 64 A double spirit Of teaching, and of learning. 1765Museum Rust. IV. 56 A certain spirit of improvement..has been promoted and carried on. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) I. 18 If possest with a spirit of theory, his imagination will supply the rest. 1833H. Martineau Vanderput & S. ix. 133 The old woman had infused a further spirit of thankfulness into the suffering boy. 1844Disraeli Coningsby iii. i, A slight spirit of mockery played over his speech. 1859C. Barker Assoc. Princ. iii. 62 To foster a spirit of comprehensive patriotism.
8. a. A particular character, disposition, or temper existing in, pervading, or animating, a person or set of persons; a special attitude or bent of mind characterizing men individually or collectively.
1561Rastell Confut. M. Ivelles Serm. 137 Not onlye Moyses had the grace of gouerning.., but seuentie elders..had imparted vnto them of his spirite and dignitie. 1588Kyd Househ. Phil. Wks. (1901) 242 There mette vs another youth of lesse yeeres, but no lesse gentle spirit. 1611Shakes. Wint. T. ii. iii. 127 Ioue send her A better guiding Spirit. 1665Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 62 Observing in his pupil a Spirit fitted for the Government of that Monarchy. 1682J. Flavel Fear Ded., A dear friend from whom I have often had the fair idea and character of your excellent spirit. 1712Addison Spect. No. 363 ⁋8 His Person, his Port, and Behaviour, are suitable to a Spirit of the highest Rank. 1754Gray Progr. Poesy 81 Latium had her lofty spirit lost. 1856Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. i. 34 By these measures the money-making spirit was for a time driven back. 1897Cavalry Tactics 5 Like the quality of tact, the cavalry spirit is perceptible only by its results.
b. The disposition, feeling, or frame of mind with which something is done, considered, or viewed. that's the spirit: exclamatory phr. used in commendation of someone's courage, determination, etc.
1601Bp. W. Barlow Serm. Paules Crosse Pref. 10 But from what spirit these objections proceede, may soone be gessed at. c1680Aubrey in Ingleby Shaks. Cent. Praise (1880) 383 It seemed to him that he writt with the very spirit that Shakespear [did]. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. i. iv, It is not thy works,..but only the Spirit thou workest in, that can have worth or continuance. 1861M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 31 Such is the spirit in which the history of our ancestors is ordinarily propounded to us. 1864Bryce Holy Rom. Emp. ix. (1875) 147 Otto laboured on his great project in a spirit almost mystic. 1923Spectator 21 Apr. 657/2 ‘That's the spirit!’ has been the immediate comment of the country. 1930M. Allingham Mystery Mile xxvii. 272 ‘I was ashamed that he should be..in my service.’ ‘That's the spirit,’ said Campion. 1963Mad Mag. July 47/1 Good! Good! That's the spirit! 1974G. F. Newman Price ii. 70 ‘I'm absolutely certain I'll be completely vindicated.’ ‘That's the spirit.’
9. A person considered in relation to his character or disposition; one who has a spirit of a specified nature:
a. With preceding adjs. moving spirit (moving ppl. a. 2 b).
1591–[see choice a. 1 b]. 1598E. Guilpin Skial. v, Here I converse with those diviner spirits Whose knowledge and admire the world inherits. 1601–[see master n.1 25 a]. 1638Junius Paint. Ancients 10 Many lively spirits at length are most pittifully turned away from their forward course. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. ix. 194 Thus impossible it is to please froward spirits. 1718Free-thinker No. 56. 8 The Brave Spirits of France now strive to vindicate their Liberty in Religious Matters. 1746Francis tr. Horace, Epist. i. xix. 11 Let thirsty Spirits make the Bar their Choice. 1808Scott in Lockhart I. i. 27 He is..led to be the associate and companion of those inferior spirits with whom he is placed. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. i. I. 34 A few regiments of household troops are sufficient to overawe all the discontented spirits of a large capital. 1883Manch. Guard. 29 Oct. 5/2 That the army, at least the more active spirits within it, were discontented was notorious. 1902[see moving ppl. a. 2 b]. 1926S. Baldwin On England 66 In a city like this, where the intelligence and the moving spirits of industry meet round this table, what an opportunity you have! 1954N. Mitford Madame de Pompadour xix. 242 The state papers still passed through her hands and the work was done in her room, but she ceased to be the moving spirit.
b. With other forms of qualification. rare.
1603Daniel Def. Rhime Wks. (1717) 21 Being..in all Ages furnish'd with Spirits fit to maintain the Majesty of her own Greatness. a1648Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII (1683) 93 So haughty were the major part of the spirits in this assembly, that..they condemned Luther's Books to the Fire. 1760–72H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) III. 82 Our ship..was full manned, with about two hundred and seventy spirits,..ready, and desirous to go and meet death.
10. a. The essential character, nature, or qualities of something; that which constitutes the pervading or tempering principle of anything. (Common after 1800.) spirit of place [tr. L. genius loci], the characteristic atmosphere and influence of a particular place.
1690Temple Ess., Poetry Wks. 1720 I. 241 The true Spirit or Vein of ancient Poetry. 1721Bradley Philos. Acc. Wks. Nat. 189 Which is enough to support the Spirit of Botany. 1746Francis tr. Horace, Epist. ii. i. 224 It breathes the Spirit of the tragic Scene. 1843Ruskin Mod. Paint. I. ii. iv. §3 The spirit of the hills is action, that of the lowlands repose. 1888Bryce Amer. Commw. v. xciii. III. 298 To do so would be alien to the whole spirit of American legislation. 1918D. H. Lawrence in Eng. Rev. Nov. 319 All art partakes of the Spirit of Place in which it is produced. 1955G. Murchie (title) The Spirit of Place in Keats. 1980P. Lively Judgement Day iii. 26 It was as though the spirit of place, nowadays, exerted its power only over the young. 1981Sunday Tel. 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.
b. The prevailing tone or tendency of a particular period of time.
1820Shelley Lett. Wks. 1880 IV. 166 It is the spirit of the age, and we are all infected with it. 1824Landor Imag. Conv. Wks. 1846 I. 144 The spirit of the times is only to be made useful by catching it as it rises. 1884Gladstone in Western Daily Press 22 Sept. 3/3 This legitimate process..conducted in the spirit of the present day. 1891Pall Mall G. 6 Aug. 3/1 The Spirit of the Age is against those who put party or programme before human needs.
c. The broad or general intent or meaning of a statement, enactment, etc. Used in contrast to letter n.1 5.
Suggested by the use of the words in 2 Cor. iii. 6.
1802Med. Jrnl. VIII. 288 Knowing..that Magistrates are generally obliged to inflict penalties according to the Letter and not according to the Spirit of an Act. 1850Robertson Serm. Ser. iii. vi. (1857) 84 His faith appears to have consisted in disbelieving the letter, almost as much as in believing the spirit of the promise. 1880Church Times 7 May 295/1 Anything in more flagrant violation of the spirit and letter of the Prayer Book can hardly be conceived than to send the Elect out of the choir to put on ‘the rest of the Episcopal habit’. 1926G. M. Trevelyan History of England ii. iii. 172 Radicals appealed to the letter and the spirit of ‘Magna Charta’ against gagging acts, packed juries and restrictions of the franchise. 1961[see protectorate law s.v. protectorate n. 4]. 1982Church Times 15 Jan. 20/2 It is..neither in the letter nor spirit of these resolutions for anyone..to act in a way which has the effect of forcing one view upon those who hold the other.
III. 11. a. The immaterial intelligent or sentient element or part of a person, freq. in implied or expressed contrast to the body.
1382Wyclif Ps. l. 19 Sacrifise to God [is] a spiritt holly trublid. c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1907 Naught may the woful spirit in myn herte Declare a poynt of my sorwes smerte. a1420Aunters of Arth. xx, The holy goste, That enspyres alle sperites..to come to that blysse. 1551Bible Luke i. 47 My spirite reioyseth in god my sauiour. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iii. i. 69 b, [They] teach them to learne some art or occupation, according to the capacitie of their spirit. 1604E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies ii. iv. 88 As well in the fruites of the earth, as in the bodies and spirits of men. c1665Mrs. Hutchinson Mem. Col. Hutchinson (1846) 5 But these things bounded not their great spirits. 1743Francis tr. Horace, Odes ii. iii. 2 In arduous Hours an equal Mind maintain, Nor let your Spirit rise too high. 1789Cowper Queen's Visit Lond. 65 That cordial thought her spirit cheer'd. 1827Hallam Const. Hist. iii. (1876) I. 162 They stood the trial of their spirits without swerving from their allegiance. 1842Tennyson Sir Galahad iv, My spirit beats her mortal bars. 1872Morley Voltaire 7 Many new things, after which the spirits of others were unconsciously groping and dumbly yearning.
b. In generalized sense, with the.
Freq. with reference to Matt. xxvi. 41.
1382Wyclif Baruch iii. 1 The soule in anguysshes, and the spirit tormentid crieth to thee. c1440Gesta Rom. i. 4 (Harl. MS.), Þi flesch, þat dispisith all werkis that þe spirite lovith. a1450tr. De Imitatione ii. viii. 48 Blesful is þat man whom..he calliþ fro teres to þe ioy of þe spirit. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 55 Luther hath offended..in..not teaching those thinges, that are of the spirite. 1614C. Brooke Ghost Rich. III, E iv, As the Catholick Spirit in Man applyes Each Sence and Organ, to their proper Ends. 1665R. Howard Four Plays, Committee iii. 99 Saffron-posset⁓drink is very good against The heaviness of the Spirit. 1666G. Torriano Piazza Universale di Proverbi Italiani 268/2 The spirit is ready, but the body is lame. 1781Cowper Hope 299 Hopes..that cannot..cheer the spirit, nor refresh the sight. 1875E. White Life in Christ iii. xx. (1878) 298 In such cases the spiritual action must at first be directly on the spirit and not at all on the mind. 1925A. Huxley Those Barren Leaves iii. xiii. 269 The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Weak in pain, but weaker still.., more inexcusably weak, in pleasure. 1935C. Isherwood Mr. Norris changes Trains ix. 138, I really must apologize for my shortcomings as a correspondent... The spirit was willing, dear boy. I hope you'll believe that. 1938W. S. Maugham Summing Up x. 30 Though ceasing my methodical study of the old masters (for though the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak), I have continued with increasing assiduity to try to write better.
c. Without article; freq. in phr. in spirit. Also (with reference to John iv. 23), in spirit and in truth, spiritually and sincerely.
1382Wyclif Rom. xii. 11 Not slow in bisynesse, feruent..in spirit. Ibid. 1 Cor. vii. 34 And a..mayden thenkith what thingis ben of the Lord, that sche be hooly in body and spirit. c1430Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 48 This rose of Jericho,..Pore in spirit, parfit in pacyence. 1582N.T. (Rhem.) Luke x. 21 In that very houre he reioyced in spirit. 1582N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. 143 The Captaine Generall was inwardly moued in spirit. 1663Bp. Patrick Parab. Pilgr. xix, Losing more time by these dejections of spirit. 1670Clarendon Hist. Reb. xvi. §10 The poor man had not spirit enough to discern what was best for him. 1779Mirror No. 10, Mr. Fleetwood felt an unusual elevation of spirit. 1859Thackeray Virgin. vi, Saddened and humbled in spirit, the young officer presented himself after a while to his old friends. 1860Ruskin Mod. Paint. V. viii. i. 167 note, This being the true distinction between flesh and spirit. 1920Galsworthy In Chancery 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. 1953A. J. Toynbee World & West vi. 96 Our hearts are hungry for a divinity that we can worship in spirit and in truth.
12. The emotional part of man as the seat of hostile or angry feeling.
1382Wyclif 2 Chron. xxi. 16 Thanne the Lord rerede aȝeinus Joram the spirite of the Philisteis, and of Arabes. 1607Shakes. Timon iii. v. 104 And not to swell our Spirit, He shall be executed presently. 1611Bible Eccl. x. 4 If the spirit of the ruler rise vp against thee, leaue not thy place. a1715Burnet Own Time (1724) I. 467 The carelessness and luxury of the court came to be so much exposed that the King's spirit was much sharpened upon it. 1862Trollope Orley F. xiv, She was prepared for war and her spirit was hot within her.
13. a. Mettle; vigour of mind; ardour; courage; disposition or readiness to assert oneself or to hold one's own.
1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iv. i. 101 All furnisht, all in Armes,..As full of spirit as the Moneth of May. 1603― Meas. for M. iii. i. 212 I haue spirit to do any thing that appeares not fowle. 1643in Clarendon Hist. Reb. vi. §338 They have of late taken spirit, and begun to speak big words. a1715Burnet Own Time (1734) II. 427 A man of more spirit than discretion. 1749Fielding Tom Jones iv. viii, Molly had too much spirit to bear this treatment tamely. 1809Byron Bards & Rev. (ed. 2) Postscr., ‘The age of chivalry is over,’ or, in the vulgar tongue, there is no spirit now-a-days. 1862Stanley Jew. Ch. (1877) I. xv. 296 They replied with all the spirit of Arab chiefs. 1890‘L. Falconer’ Mlle. Ixe i. 33 She consoled herself by describing what other people called disobedience as spirit.
b. In the phr. with (..) spirit.
1748Gray Alliance 95 What wonder if..They guard with spirit what by strength they gain'd? 1799Nelson 7 June in Nicolas Disp. (1846) VII. p. clxxxiv, Don Jose..has on several occasions conducted himself with spirit. 1816Scott Old Mort. xxxii, Ere Morton or Burley had reached the post to be defended, the enemy had commenced an attack upon it with great spirit. 1830Marryat King's Own xiii, The action was now maintained with spirit, but much to the disadvantage of the cutter.
c. Freq. in a man of spirit.
1747Hoadly Suspicious Husband i. i, We Men of Spirit, Sir, are above it. 1780Mirror No. 102, Youths entering on the stage of life are catched with the engaging appellation, ‘a man of spirit’. 1812Lex. Bal. Pref. p. vi, They may be initiated into all the peculiarities of language by which a man of spirit is distinguished from a man of worth.
14. a. A brisk or lively quality in things.
1588Kyd Househ. Phil. Wks. (1901) 272 The small wynes, and those of little spirite that quickly lose their strength. 1638Junius Paint. Ancients 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. 1686A. Horneck Crucif. Jesus (1716) 190 Wine hath Briskness and Spirit in it. 1852Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xiv, So much motherliness and full-heartedness..seemed to put a spirit into the food and drink she offered. 1874H. H. Cole Catal. Ind. Art S. Kens. Mus. App. 281 The action and modelling of the conventional griffin has some spirit about it.
b. Liveliness, vivacity, or animation in persons, their actions, discourse, etc. (Cf. 17 c.)
a1700Evelyn Diary 16 Aug. 1691, An honest discourse, but read without any spirit or seeming concern. 1750Gray Long Story 30 Arm'd with spirit, wit, and satire. 1783F. Burney Diary 20 June, The absence of Dr. Johnson..took off the spirit of the evening. 1867Ruskin Time & Tide v. §24 She danced her joyful dance with perfect grace, spirit, sweetness, and self-forgetfulness. 1886Athenæum 30 Oct. 559/2 The twenty-second chapter..relates with some spirit the disputes between England and the United States.
IV.
15. a. A movement of the air; a wind; a breath (of wind or air).
In later use poet. and associated with other senses.
1382Wyclif Gen. viii. 1 The Lord..brouȝte to a spirit [1388 wynd] vpon the erthe. And the watris ben lessid. Ibid. Ps. x. 7 Fyr, brunston, and the spiritis [1388 spirit] of tempestis. 1561J. Daus tr. Bullinger on Apoc. (1573) 158 Fyre, brimstone, and spirite of tempest. 1601Holland Pliny I. 37 All the spirit and winde which should beare them [sc. birds] vp is withdrawne from them. 1626Bacon Sylva §39 All Purgers haue in them a raw Spirit, or Wind; which is the Principall Cause of Tortion in the Stomach. 1725Pope Odyssey vii. 152 The balmy spirit of the western gale. 1820Shelley Witch Atlas lx, With motion like the spirit of that wind Whose soft step deepens slumber.
†b. The act of breathing; (a) breath. Obs.
1382Wyclif 2 Thess. ii. 8 The ilke wickid man..whom the Lord Jhesu schal sle with the spirit of his mouth. 1481Caxton tr. Cicero, Old Age, Their wisedom ascendyd in encreasing and contynued unto the last spirite of their lives. 1483― Gold. Leg. 129/2 For all her body bycam cold and she felte that her spirite helde her in her brest. 1581Marbeck Bk. Notes 55 Him shall God destroie with y⊇ spirit of his mouth. 1678Wanley Wond. Lit. World 293 Forasmuch as the force of the words was sharp and that there was a succession of spirits.
c. Gram. An aspirate or breathing; a conventional mark indicating this; spec. in the writing or printing of Greek.
1555Eden Decades (Arb.) 169 Ye, all suche woordes as in their tonge are aspirate, are pronounced with lyke breath and spirite as is .f. 1612Brinsley Lud. Lit. 232 Call vpon them oft to marke carefully the accents of each word, with the spirits. a1653Gouge Comm. Heb. i. 3 The Greek makes an apparent distinction by a different spirit over the head of the first letter. 1680Dalgarno Deaf & Dumb Man's Tutor 126 The unnecessary and troublesome luggage of Spirits and Accents. 1751Wesley Wks. (1872) XIV. 79 Every initial vowel has a spirit prefixed. 1827Faber Sacr. Cal. Prophecy (1844) III. 163 The inscription in the Greek cursive character, even with the accompanying accents and spirits. 1861Scrivener N.T. Critic. 39 The book has neither spirits..nor accents.
†d. Mus. An air; a melody. Obs.—1
1608Weelkes (title), Ayeres or Phantasticke Spirites for three voices.
16. a. One or other of certain subtle highly-refined substances or fluids (distinguished as natural, animal, and vital) formerly supposed to permeate the blood and chief organs of the body. In later use only pl.
See also animal spirits 1, natural a. 12 a, and vital a.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 53 For þe son beme..draweþ oute þe humours,..and by drawing oute of spirites makeþ hem coward of herte. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 26 Þe toþer arterie..haþ two cootis, bi cause þat oon myȝt not aȝenstonde þe strenkþe of þe spiritis. Ibid. 162 Of þis clene blood þe spirit is engendrid; which spirit is..more sutil þan ony bodi. 1477Norton Ord. Alch. v. in Ashm. (1652) 82 The Spirit Vitall in the Hert doth dwell, The Spirit Naturall..in the Liver.., But Spirit Animall dwelleth in the Braine. 1539Elyot Cast. Helthe (1541) 12 b, Spirite is an ayry substance subtyll, styrynge the powers of the body to perfourme theyr operations. 1587Golding De Mornay xiv. (1592) 206 A mans..eyes faile because the Spirites of them fayle. 1615Crooke Body of Man 61 The reason is, because all the spirits are immured. a1646J. Burroughes Exp. Hosea vi. (1652) 266 The fatter mens bodies are, the lesse blood and the fewer spirits they have. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 155 When his Blood no Youthful Spirits move, He languishes and labours in his Love. 1725N. Robinson Th. Physick 250 What Remedies will be properest to repress the Disorders of the Spirits. 1791Pop. Tales Germ. I. 190 Her spirits retired inward, her cheeks grew pale, and down she sank.
transf.1719W. Wood Surv. Trade 3 It disperses that blood and Spirits throughout the Members, by which the Body Politick subsists. 1812Cary Dante, Parad. xxvi. 70 With the eye's spirit running forth to meet The ray.
b. pl. Vital power or energy; the normal operation of the vital functions.
c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 514 So feble eek were hise spiritz and so lowe,..that no man koude knowe His speche ne his voys. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 6065 Fra he was vp ryght sett, he began his spirits to gett with in a litil stounde. 1617Moryson Itin. i. 118 At last feeling my spirits begin to faile me, I was glad to returne. 1670Walton Lives iii. 228 More he would have spoken, but his spirits failed him. 1700Rowe Amb. Step-Moth. i. i, That ever will remain, And in my latest Spirits still survive. 1793Cowper To Mary ii, Thy spirits have a fainter flow, I see thee daily weaker grow.
17. a. pl. The mind or faculties as the seat of action and feeling, esp. as liable to be depressed or exalted by events or circumstances.
1375Barbour Bruce vi. 223 He..sumdeill affrayit wes; But in schort tym he till him tais His spiritis richt full hardely. a1548Hall Chron., Rich. III, 49 To visite his familie, and to recreate and refreshe his spirites (as he openly saide). 1592Arden of Feversham i. 1 Arden, cheere vp thy spirits and droup no more. 1608Chapman Dk. Byron v. i. 133 For we shall never brag That we have made his spirits check at death. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 199 Dangers, the Sight of which, if discover'd to him, would..sink his Spirits. 1771Smollett Humph. Cl. (1815) 184, I find my spirits and my health affect each other reciprocally. 1825Scott Betrothed xxii, The spirits of Eveline in particular felt a depression. 1845J. Coulter Adv. in Pacific xi. 135 It is one of the means of keeping up the spirits of the men on long voyages. 1893Law Times XCIV. 603/2 For the last three or four days he appears to have been depressed in spirits.
b. With adjs., as good, great, high, low, etc. Freq. in..spirits.
1737Gray Lett. (1900) I. 6 Low spirits are my true and faithful companions. 1743Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 169 So that we are in pretty good Spirits. 1744[see low a. 8 b]. 1780Mirror No. 98, I walked home in great spirits. 1802M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. vii. 41 She had a constant flow of good spirits. 1820Irving Sketch Bk. I. 49 She seems in better spirits than I have ever known her. 1884Daily News 21 Feb. 5/3 The men are in high spirits at the prospect of a fight.
c. Vigour or animation of mind; cheerfulness, vivacity, liveliness. (Cf. 14 b.)
1716Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to Lady Rich 16 Aug., I found myself perfectly recovered, and have had spirits enough to go and see all that is curious in the town. 1780Mirror No. 81, I lost all my former spirits, as well as my former bloom. 1803Med. Jrnl. IX. 211 Loss of appetite and spirits, succeeded with thirst. 1852Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xxi, The horse would roll when he was bringing him up from the stable; he's so full of spirits.
d. in spirits, in a cheerful mood; animated, elated, happy. out of spirits, low-spirited.
1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xxxii, His time is pretty much taken up in keeping his relation..in spirits. 1779in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1844) IV. 259 [She] is..so out of spirits, that she is cruelly afraid she shall never live till her dear master's return. 1826Disraeli Viv. Grey iv. ii, I suppose he is quite in spirits at your success? 1838Lytton Alice i. i, Who can be out of spirits in such weather? 1907G. B. Shaw John Bull's Other Island iv. 94 You seem rather out of spirits... You havnt got neuralgia, have you? 1966G. Greene Comedians i. v. 140 He seemed tired and out of spirits.
†18. pl.
a. The faculties of perception or reflection; the senses or intellect; mental powers. Obs.
1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 57 b, That..thou gather to the thy spirytes, & be..quyet. 1604Shakes. Oth. iii. iv. 63 His Spirits should hunt After new Fancies. c1645Howell Lett. (1650) II. 115 Truly the more I scrue up my spirits to reach it, the more I am swallowed in a gulf of admiration. 1697Dryden Virg. Past. iv. 66 To sing thy Praise, wou'd Heav'n my Breath prolong, Infusing Spirits worthy such a Song.
†b. Disposition, character. Obs.
1602Shakes. Ham. iii. ii. 63 For what aduancement may I hope from thee, That no Reuennew hast, but thy good spirits To feed & cloath thee?
19.
†a. A subtle or intangible element or principle in material things. Obs.
1626Bacon Sylva §98 The Spirits or Pneumaticalls, that are in all Tangible Bodies are scarce known. 1638Rawley tr. Bacon's Life & Death (1650) 57 There is in every Tangible Body a Spirit, covered and encompassed with the Grosser Parts of the Body. 1661South Serm. Wks. 1823 II. 328 In the rain, it is not the bare water that fructifies, but a secret spirit or nitre descending with it. a1722Lisle Husb. (1757) 218 The spirit of the straw is washed out by the rain. 1725Fam. Dict. s.v. Cider, The Spirits of Cider being exceedingly apt to evaporate.
b. (See quot.)
1829Chapters Phys. Sci. 235 The oxygenous gas..is a kind of vivifying spirit or quality, which is necessary to continue the lives of animals.
V.
†20.
a. One or other of four substances so named by the mediaeval alchemists. Obs.
c1386Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 60 Ne eek oure spirites Ascencioun..Mowe in oure werkyng no thyng vs auaille. Ibid. 103 The firste spirit quyk siluer called is, The seconde Orpyment, the thridde ywis Sal Armonyak, and the ferthe Brymstoon. 1390Gower Conf. II. 84 Of bodies sevene..With foure spiritz joynt withal Stant the substance of this matiere.
†b. spirit of the world: (see quot.).
1651French Distill. 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.
†c. spec. Mercury. Obs.
1704J. Harris Lex. Techn. I, Spirit, which the Chymists call Mercury, is one of the 5 Principles separable from a Mixt, by Fire. 1725Watts Logic i. ii. §2 The chemist makes spirit, salt, sulphur, water, and earth, to be their five elements. 1728Chambers Cycl. s.v. Element, Mercury, which they [sc. chemists] also call Spirit.
†d. (See quot.) Obs.—1
1733W. Ellis Chiltern & Vale Farm. 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.
21. a. A liquid of the nature of an essence or extract from some substance, esp. one obtained by distillation; a solution in alcohol of some essential or volatile principle.
1610B. Jonson Alch. ii. vi, H'is busie with his spirits, but wee'll vpon him. 1651French Distill. v. 139 Dissolve any sulphurous..metall..in Aqua fortis, or any other acid Spirit. 1728Chambers Cycl. s.v., The Chymists are said to draw a Spirit from Sulphur, Salt and other Bodies, when they extract the Essence..by Distillation or otherwise. 1813Sir H. Davy Agric. Chem. (1814) 136 All the common spirits may, I find, be deprived of their peculiar flavour by repeatedly digesting them with..charcoal and quicklime. 1831J. Davies Mat. Med. 36 The spirits have a weaker odour than the distilled waters. 1875H. C. Wood Therap. (1879) 18 Spirits are alcoholic solutions of volatile principles made by direct solution or by distillation from the crude drugs.
fig.1613Sylvester (title), Lachrymæ Lachrymarum: or the Spirit of Teares, distilled for the vntymely Death of the incomparable Prince of Wales. 1639Fuller Holy War ii. xxxiv. (1840) 94 These Assassins..had in them the very spirits of that poisonous superstition. 1742Young Nt. Th. iv. 144 To drink the spirit of the golden day, And triumph in existence.
b. Without article: Liquid such as is obtained by distillation, spec. that which is of an alcoholic nature. Also pl.
sing.1610B. Jonson Alch. i. i, Have I..Wrought thee to spirit, to quintessence, with paines Would twise haue won me the philosophers worke? 1688Holme Armoury iii. xx. (Roxb.) 250/2 Wine coopers termes:..Spiritt, wine double distilled. 1726Dict. Rust., Spirit dulcified, a choice Remedy for the Cholick in Horses. a1774Goldsm. Surv. Exp. Philos. (1776) I. 380 A solid that will swim in water, will sink in spirit. 1799G. Smith Laboratory I. 334 In this manner are extracted from roses the three principles, spirit, oil, and salt. 1815J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 576 The substances from which spirit is obtained are usually barley, wheat, oats, rye, sugar, or molasses. 1854Ronalds & Richardson Chem. Technol. (ed. 2) I. 289 In this manner, by one operation, spirit containing about 60 per cent. of alcohol is obtained. 1863Huxley Man's Place in Nat. i. 16 M. Palm..shot one, and forwarded it to Batavia in spirit.
pl.1800Southey in C. C. Southey Life (1850) II. 91 The head and hands were sent here; I have seen them in the Museum, in spirits.
c. orig. pl. Strong alcoholic liquor for drinking, obtained from various substances by distillation; sing. any particular kind of this.
1684Bunyan Pilgr. ii. 67 He gave me also a piece of an Honey-comb, and a little Bottle of Spirits. 1742–3Hervey in Johnson's Deb. (1787) II. 409 It is not to be doubted, my Lords, but that spirits will, by this additional duty, be made one third part dearer. 1833H. Martineau Vanderput & S. vi. 95 Every body agreed that spirits were the only safeguard against the perils of ditch water. 1884Graphic 29 Nov. 562/2 An exuberance of animal spirits occasionally increased by spirits of another character.
sing.1840Dickens Old C. Shop xxi, Quilp..drank three small glass-fulls of the raw spirit. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair lxvii, When she was prevailed on..to take a little spirit-and-water. 1884J. P. Quincy Figures of Past 265 The use of wine and spirit was practically universal at the time of which I am speaking.
d. With of (the name of the liquor). rare.
1700T. Brown tr. Fresny's Amusem. viii. Wks. 1709 III. i. 77 To the Charms of Coffee the wiser sort joyn'd Spirit of Clary, Usquebaugh, and Brandy. 1831Scott Cast. Dang. xiii, Wilt thou take some refreshment?—or shall we go on without the spirit of muscadel?
22. a. An essence, distilled extract, or alcoholic solution, of a specified substance. Freq. pl., esp. in later use.
Only the earlier or more important of these special designations are illustrated here: see also turpentine, vitriol, and wine.
a1700Evelyn Diary 27 Oct. 1675, By applying hot fire⁓pans and *spirit of amber to his head. 1737[see amber n.1 3 b].
1839Ure Dict. Arts 1158 *Spirit of Ammonia is, properly speaking, alcohol combined with ammonia gas; but the term is often applied to water of ammonia. 1871Garrod Mat. Med. (ed. 3) 47 Aromatic Spirit of Ammonia... Often called Sal Volatile.
1853Royle Mat. Med. (ed. 2) 599 *Spirit of Camphor... Dissolve Camphor..in Rectified Spirit.
Ibid 701 *Spirit of Ether..Mix Sulphuric Ether..with Rectified Spirit. Ibid., Compound Spirit of Ether. 1871Garrod Mat. Med. (ed. 3) 149 Spirit of ether is employed in making the ethereal tincture of lobelia.
1683–4Boyle Mem. Nat. Hist. Hum. Blood 122 The *Sp. of Harts-horn. 1685[see hartshorn 2]. 1826Henry Elem. Chem. II. 609 Spirit of Hartshorn. This may be counterfeited by mixing the aqua ammoniæ puræ with the distilled spirit of hartshorn.
1666Boyle Orig. Forms & Qual. 337, I did..make a red *spirit of Nitre, by the help onely of Oyl of Vitriol. 1710J. Clarke tr. Rohault's Nat. Philos. (1729) I. 113 A few Drops of Spirit of Nitre or of Oil of Vitriol. 1823J. Badcock Dom. Amusem. 45 A strong solution of mercury, made with spirit of nitre.
1853Royle Mat. Med. (ed. 2) 702 *Spirit of Nitric Ether. Hyponitrous Ether dissolved in Rectified Spirit. Sweet Spirits of Nitre.
1859Mayne Expos. Lex. 1189/2 *Spirit of nitrous ether. 1871Garrod Mat. Med. (ed. 3) 151 Spirit of nitrous ether..is popularly known by the name of Sweet Spirits of Nitre.
1779Phil. Trans. LXX. 40 Apply to the precipitate solution of volatile alkali, sold by the name of *spirit of sal ammoniac.
1651French Distill. i. 36 The *Spirit of salt being rectified may serve again. 1779Phil. Trans. LXX. 30 Half an ounce of muriatic acid sold by the name of spirit of salt. 1807T. Thomson Chem. (ed. 3) II. 611 This residuum is usually called bittern, and sometimes in Scotland spirit of salt. 1860Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 5) II. 481 The solution of hydrochloric acid in water is the muriatic acid and spirit of salt of commerce.
1753Chambers' Cycl. Suppl. s.v. Silk, If spirit of wine be poured upon spirit of sal armoniac, or *spirit of silk.
1704J. Harris Lex. Techn. I, *Spirit of Sulphur, commonly call'd Oil of Sulphur,..is only the acid Part of Sulphur turned into a Liquor by the means of Fire.
1651French Distill. iii. 66 Dissolve Salt-Armoniack in..*spirit of Urine. 1710J. Clarke tr. Rohault's Nat. Philos. (1729) I. 129 An equal Quantity of Spirits of Wine and Spirits of Urine.
1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) IV. 598 (Plate), Pyroligneous acid. *Spirit of wood.
b. Dyeing. (See quots.)
1875Knight Dict. Mech. 428/1 [In] spirit-color printing, the colors are produced by a mixture of dye extracts and solution of tin, called by the dyers spirits of tin. 1877Encycl. Brit. VII. 574/2 The so-called nitrate of tin (sometimes called ‘bowl spirits’, from being prepared in an earthenware bowl). 1880D. Smith Pract. Dyer's Guide (title-p.), Receipts for making all the Dye Spirits with which to dye every colour in the work.
VI. attrib. and Comb.
23. In senses 1–14:
a. Simple attrib., in various applications, as spirit-blow, spirit-body, spirit-book, spirit-call, spirit-child, spirit-communication, spirit-doctor, spirit-harmony, spirit-house, spirit-land, spirit-medium , spirit-mischief, spirit-nature, spirit-possession, spirit-stream, spirit thing, spirit tower, spirit-visit, spirit-voice, spirit-wall, spirit-world, etc.
Some of these are used in sense 23 g but now have a wider use in Anthropology.
1818Keats Endym. iv. 899 But the *spirit-blow Was struck, and all were dreamers.
1848Kingsley Saint's Trag. ii. ii, Spirit-love in *spirit-bodies.
1852Bailey Festus (ed. 5) 500 To..strict collation of the *Spirit-book With the pretemporal volume, writ of God.
1949Blunden After Bombing 17 For young, for old, a *spirit-call Even now, bright music, stirs the air.
1845S. Judd Margaret i. xii, Call me your child,..your *spirit-child, and so love me.
1869Geo. Eliot Let. 11 July (1956) V. 48 ‘Spiritualism’ (by which I mean, of course, *spirit-communications). 1960W. Naylor Silver Birch Anthol. 7 The uncertain art of continuous spirit communication.
1936Discovery 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.
1874Geo. Eliot Coll. Breakf. P. 278 The Church as..fount of *spirit force.
1865M. E. Braddon Sir Jasper iii, Shadowy as those *spirit-hands of which we hear so much nowadays.
1928Blunden Undertones of War xvii. 177 The flush and abundance of antique life and memorial and achievement, such as blend into the great *spirit-harmony of the cities in that part of Europe.
1831Carlyle Sart. Res. iii. viii, Like a God-created, fire-breathing *Spirit-host.
1856*Spirit-house [see circle n. 21 b]. 1966Mrs. L. B. Johnson White House Diary 27 Oct. (1970) 437 There were ‘spirit houses’ everywhere—brightly decorated little houses..about the size of a bird house, standing on stilts—one beside almost every residence. These houses are to entice the spirits so they will leave your house to you. 1973P. Berton Drifting Home vi. 89 In Little Salmon, the graves are as numerous as the houses. Indeed they are like small cabins—a village of spirit houses with sloping roofs, glass windows and curtains, containing dead flowers and teapots and plates for the use of the deceased.
1841E. A. Poe in Graham's Mag. May 241/2 A traveller from the *spirit-land. 1845Hirst Poems 157 Beyond the Vale of Shadows, lie dispread The spirit-lands. 1859Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 2) 434 Spirit-land, an expression which, in the cant of the rappers, means the abode of departed spirits, the other world.
1869Ruskin Q. of Air iii. §157 The *spirit-life of art.
1662Hibbert Body Divinity i. 127 Soul-light is not enough to make us truly wise, but there must also be *spirit-light. 1830Mrs. Hemans Indian w. Dead Child ix, I saw the spirit-light From his young eyes fade away.
a1835― Song of Rose Poems (1875) 550 Shall we not behold thee..In *spirit lustre clothed?
1853Theatr. Jrnl. 22 June 190/1 A celebrated ‘*spirit-medium’..advertises a seance for the demonstration of spiritual communications. 1979P. Niesewand Member of Club vii. 50 We've..got..to enlist the support of spirit mediums. The ancestral spirits are supposed to speak through them.
1915W. B. Yeats Reveries over Childhood & Youth xiv. 70 Somnambulistic country girls..become mediums for some genuine *spirit-mischief, surrendering to their desire for the marvellous.
1877E. Caird Philos. Kant Introd v. 79 The *spirit-monad—the monad that has consciousness of itself.
1962Auden Dyer's Hand (1963) 135 The greatest of *spirit-nature pairs and the most orthodox is, of course, Don Quixote-Sancho Panza.
1909W. James in Proc. Soc. Psychical Research XXIII. lviii. 35 The whole record of *spirit-possession in human history. 1950Blesh & Janis They all played Ragtime x. 188 The incalculable power generated by the ring-shout rhythms brings about ‘spirit-possession’, referred to in jazz as being ‘sent out of this world’. 1964Gould & Kolb Dict. Soc. Sci. 638/2 Spirit possession seems too broad a term to specify the social functions and active controlling role characteristic of the shaman.
1844Mrs Browning Lady Geraldine's Courtship liii, No new *spirit-power comprising.
a1835Mrs. Hemans Painter's last Wk. Poems (1875) 596 Purified To *spirit radiance from all earthly stain.
1858Sears Athan. iii. x. 333 This tide of humanity sweeps on into the *spirit-realm.
1852Bailey Festus (ed. 5) 529 So every bodily organ shall be changed Into a *spirit-sense.
1925Blunden English Poems 93 The time will come when, at the point to die I'll wish a *spirit-stream as cool and clear.
1886W. B. Yeats in Dublin Univ. Rev. Jan. 75 Two *spirit things a man hath for his friends: Sorrow that gives for guerdon liberty, And joy. a1957Spirit-thing [see root-sensation s.v. root n.1 21].
1657J. Watts Vind. Ch. Eng. 115 Refuse the Mother⁓tongue Translation, and call for the *Spirit-tongue Original.
1955E. Pound Classic Anthol. iii. 158 When he planned to begin a *spirit tower Folk rushed to the work-camp and overran All the leisure of King Wen's plan.
1936E. Sitwell Victoria of England 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.
1655Vaughan Silex Scint. 40 Prayer is a *spirit-voyce. 1844E. A. Poe in Graham's Mag. Mar. 142/1 During the swell of the organ, the spirit-voice of the deceased addresses itself to the murderer. 1852Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xxiv, The voice came over him as a spirit-voice.
1937Burlington Mag. Oct. 162/1 These walls are now generally called ying pi—shadow- or *spirit-walls... They are often found in front of the street-door, but sometimes also inside the enclosure behind the entrance in order to shut out a view of the interior. They served too as a protection against demons. The idea is current that demons are stupid and therefore only walk straight forward. 1948G. H. Johnston Death takes Small Bites ii. 47 Alongside the road, protecting the big houses from wandering devils, were spirit-walls, blank and forbidding.
1847M. Howitt Ballads 266, I see on *spirit-wings, How thou hast set them high.
Ibid. 323 My *spirit-words were all too faint.
1855Browning In a Balcony Wks. 1863 II. 494 The success And consummation of the *spirit-work.
1847W. Smith tr. Fichte's Present Age 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. a1853Robertson Serm. Ser. iii. v. 62 The reality of the spirit-world. 1871Tylor Prim. Cult. I. 131 Two of the most popular means of communicating with the spirit-world.
1878Maclear Celts ii. 28 *Spirit-worship, which peopled all the objects of nature with malignant beings.
b. Appositive, as spirit-bride, spirit-chieftain, spirit-enemy, spirit-friend, spirit-guardian, spirit-lady, spirit-wind, etc.
1904W. H. Hudson Green Mansions xxi. 306 Nor did my mournful *spirit-bride come to me. 1917G. Frankau City of Fear 26 My Soul would bide with its spirit-bride At the Inn of a Thousand Dreams.
1841A. M. Hall Ireland I. 192 A belief in the existence of the *spirit-chieftain.
1900Month Jan. 96 For ages..these wild people had believed in spirit-guardians, and also in *spirit-enemies.
1839Bailey Festus 50 Have I not heard thee hint of *spirit-friends? Where are they now?
1845G. Murray Islaford, etc. 186 The *spirit-lady soars away.
1845Bailey Festus (ed. 2) 119 There are *spirit-rulers of all worlds.
1848Ibid. (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.
1838Mrs. Browning Seraphim ii. Poems (1904) 87/2 Doth the *Spirit-wind Blow white those waters? 1894Wales May 38/2 Lord, round me then with weeping clouds, And let my mind In quick blasts sigh beneath those shrouds, A spirit-wind. 1934Blunden Choice or Chance 3 (heading) Spirit-Wind.
c. With agent-nouns, as spirit-charmer, spirit-hunter, spirit-monger, spirit-ridder, spirit-seer, spirit-wrestler.
As the specific name of a religious sect, Spirit-wrestlers is a rendering of Russ. Dukhobortsi, f. dukh' spirit + borets' wrestler.
1711Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) II. 330 In ghostly company of spirit-hunters, witch-finders [etc.]. 1832Hood Ode Ld. Gambier iii, Consider The sorry figure of a spirit-ridder. 1862S. Lucas Secularia 91 ‘How,’ exclaims the spirit-seer,..‘do I envy you a sight of Bristow, in the year 1480’. 1877J. E. Carpenter tr. Tiele's Hist. Relig. 29 The magicians, soothsayers, and spirit-charmers. 1881Dr. Gheist, an Autobiogr. 43 All the spirit-mongers are either old women or curates. 1897(title), Christian Martyrdom in Russia. Persecution of the spirit-wrestlers (or Doukhobortsi) in the Caucasus. 1899R. Whiteing 5 John St. 329 The real spirit-wrestlers who struggle for a new blessing with the God within.
d. With vbl. ns. and ppl. adjs., as spirit-cheering, spirit-chilling, spirit-crushing, spirit-dazzling, spirit-freeing, spirit-giving, spirit-healing, spirit-lifting, spirit quelling, spirit-quenching, spirit-strangling, spirit-uplifting, etc.
1838M. Howitt Birds & Fl. 52 Raven, thou art *spirit-cheering.
1825D. L. Richardson Sonets 15 This sad heart By *spirit-chilling Sorrow unreprest.
1858Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. II. 221 It is extremely *spirit-crushing, this remorseless gray.
1946R. S. Thomas Stones of Field 12 Deadly as a falcon brooding over its prey In a tower of *spirit-dazzling and splendid light.
1858T. Guthrie Christ & Inheritance Saints (1859) 20 The same *spirit-freeing words.
1946Blunden Shelley xvi. 199 The *spirit-giving blue sky of spring.
1798Coleridge Fears in Solitude 12 O! 'tis a quiet *spirit-healing nook.
1605Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iii. iii. Law 26 It is the *spirit-inspiring Spirit.
1841E. A. Poe in Gift 1842 161 *Spirit-lifting ecstasy of adoration.
1818Shelley Rosal. & Helen 1156 His countenance..burned with radiance Of *spirit-piercing joy.
1812*Spirit quelling [see nerve-racking s.v. nerve n. 11 b]. 1817Shelley Rev. Islam xi. xiv, On each unwilling heart Unusual awe did fall—a spirit-quelling dart.
1601Donne Progresse of Soule in Poems (1633) 3 *Spirit-quenching sicknesse, dull captivitie. 1948F. R. Leavis Great Tradition v. 232 Coketown (the spirit-quenching hideousness of which is hauntingly evoked).
c1611Chapman Iliad iii. 265 Two lambs, and *spirit-refreshing wine..they bring.
1814Scott Ld. of Isles vi. i, The emotions of the *spirit-rousing time.
1777Potter æschylus, Choephoræ 323 Bitter constraint, and *spirit-sinking fear. a1822Shelley ‘She was an aged woman’ vii, The spirit-sinking noise Of heartless mirth.
1817― Rev. Islam iv. xxviii, The love that lies Hovering within those *spirit-soothing eyes.
1799Campbell Pleas. Hope i. 98 The dauntless brow, and *spirit-speaking eye.
1930Blunden Summer's Fancy 49 Of sloughs, of sleepless pangs, of Golgothas, of *spirit-strangling.
1817Shelley Rev. Islam vii. iv, A wild, and sad, and *spirit-thrilling lay. 1830Tennyson Ode to Memory 39 Those spirit-thrilling eyes.
1951L. MacNeice tr. Goethe's Faust 299 Here is the prospect free, *Spirit-uplifting.
1777Brand Pop. Antiq. 71 Mr. Bourne might have stiled this Chapter, A Sermon on *Spirit-walking. Ibid. 235 The Spirit-walking Time of Popery!
1809Malkin Gil Blas ix. i. ⁋6 Six merchants.., all plodding *spirit-wearing personages.
e. With pa. pples., denoting either (a) ‘of or by the spirit’, ‘by spirits’, as spirit-baptized, spirit-born, spirit-filled, spirit-guided, spirit-haunted, etc., or (b) ‘in spirit’, as spirit-broken, spirit-crushed, spirit-fallen, spirit-froze, spirit-rotten, etc.
(a)1602W. Fulbecke Pandects Introd., The valiant Persians, the spirit-guided Hebrews, the prudent Grecians. 1645Quarles Sol. Recant. xii. 59 And what his spirit-prompted pen did write Was truth it self, and most exact upright. 1850Robertson Serm. Ser. iii. ii. (1857) 23 Those called the Spirit-born, and those called the world. 1855Bailey Mystic 70 The spirit-haunted Kâf. 1895J. MacNeil (title) Spirit-filled life. 1897M. Kingsley W. Africa 417 Sending out long white arms..and then drawing them back as if it were some spirit-possessed thing. 1903R. C. Morgan Outpoured Spirit & Pentecost 53 How are we to be filled with the Spirit? By drinking; by coming unto Jesus, and as members of the Spirit-baptized Church. 1936J. Brice Pentecost xiii. 226 The prayer-life of the Spirit-filled believer is transformed through his new apprehension of the Father. 1974Spirit-baptized [see pentecostal n. b]. 1977Belfast Tel. 17 Jan. 2/8 (Advt.), Full Gospel Bible College at Millmount, Randalstown... We can promise you dynamic spirit-filled Ministry with David Hathaway.
(b)a1628F. Grevil Life Sidney (1652) 60 If not with abrupt, and spirit-fall'n tolleration, yet with that invisible web of connivencie. 1649G. Daniel Trinarch., Hen. V, ccxxxvii, Stung with the Aspiche of invadeing feare, Or Spirit-froze, bound vp in bloodlesse veines. 1839Bailey Festus 268 See where she flies, spirit-torn, round the heavens. 1845Encycl. Metrop. XI. 375/1 The injured but spirit-broken progeny of Ali and Fatima wanted resolution or ability to assert their cause. 1865J. H. Ingraham Pillar of Fire i. xxv. (1872) 423 The queen..seems heart-broken, spirit-crushed! 1880Swinburne Songs of Spring-t., Thalassius 30 Death spirit-stricken of soul-sick days. 1922D. H. Lawrence Fantasia of Unconscious v. 75 We are sympathy-rotten, and spirit-rotten, and idea-rotten.
f. Similative, as spirit-pure, spirit-small, spirit-wise; spirit-tongued, spirit-winged.
1817Shelley Rev. Islam xii. xxxviii, The stream..faster bare The spirit-winged boat. 1820― Prometh. Unb. ii. i. 164 The crags..mock our voices As they were spirit-tongued. 1842Browning By the Fireside xxiii, The spirit-small hand propping it. 1845― Statue & Bust vii, A pale brow spirit-pure. 1848Bailey Festus (ed. 3) 309 Thou shalt perceive earth spirit-wise.
g. In expressions relating to the phenomena or doctrines of spiritualism, as spirit-circle, spirit guide, spirit healer, spirit healing, spirit photograph, spirit photography, spirit-writing.
1856Spiritual Herald Feb. 3 Spirit hands, spirit voices, spirit healing. 1858W. M. Wilkinson (title), Spirit Drawings; a Personal Narrative. 1864Browning Dram. Pers. 179 David..peeps in the glass ball, Sets to the spirit-writing, hears the raps. 1865Masson Rec. Brit. Philos. 295 The heterodox science of the Swedenborgians and the spirit-manifestationists. 1867J. H. Powell (title), Mediumship:..with brief instructions for the formation of Spirit-Circles. 1871Tylor Prim. Cult. I. 135 The Baron..publishes a mass of fac-similes of spirit-writings thus obtained. 1872Spiritualist 15 Apr. 25/1 Within the last six weeks in London, spirit photography has set in like a flood. 1877H. P. Blavatsky Isis Unveiled 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. 1887Encycl. Brit. XXII. 405/2 ‘Spirit-photography,’ or photographing of human and other forms invisible to all but specially endowed seers. 1893Fortn. Rev. Jan. 125 Can a ghost be photographed? Are all the spirit-photos frauds? 1909W. James in Amer. Mag. Oct. 585/2 Rappings, apparitions, poltergeists, spirit-photographs, and materializations. 1956R. M. Lester Towards Hereafter x. 124 My husband and I visited a trance medium, and a spirit healer we now know as Dr Light spoke through her. 1960Spectator 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. 1982E. Jenkins Shadow & Light xxii. 172 A matter between him and his spirit-guides, not one with which human beings had anything to do.
h. In specific names, as spirit-butterfly, duck, -leaf, -weed, -wood (see quots.).
1891Cent. Dict., *Spirit-butterfly, a tropical American butterfly of the genus Ithomia.
1784Pennant Arct. Zool. II. 558 *Spirit Duck... Inhabits North America, from Hudson's Bay to Carolina. 1829Griffith tr. Cuvier VIII. 611 Spirit Duck, Anas Albeola. 1872Coues N. Amer. Birds 290 Buffle-headed Duck. Butter-ball. Spirit Duck. Dipper.
1696Sloane Cat. Plantarum Jamaica 52 *Spirit leaf. 1864Grisebach Flora Brit. W. Ind. 787/2 Spirit-leaf, Ruellia tuberosa. 1866Treas. Bot. 1085/1 Spirit-leaf, or Spirit-weed, Ruellia tuberosa, now called Cryphiacanthus barbadensis.
1699Sloane in Phil. Trans. XXI. 119 None is more surprizing then one in Jamaica, called *Spirit-weed. 1866[see above].
1716Petiveriana i. 259 *Spirit-wood,..Pneumatoxylum.
i. Special Comb.: Spirit baptism = baptism in the Spirit, sense 6 c above.
1964N. Bloch-Hoell Pentecostal Movement vii. 142 Glossolalia, in connection with the Spirit baptism, was generally believed to be a permanent Gift of Grace. 1977G. W. H. Lampe God as Spirit vii. 199 It [sc . Pentecostalism] is very emphatic in its assertion of a two-stage relationship to God, reception of the Spirit, or Spirit-baptism, being sharply differentiated from the state of being a Christian without that added gift of God.
24. In sense 21 (freq. 21 c):
a. Simple attrib., as spirit bubble, spirit-extract, spirit-flame, spirit-licence, spirit-trade, etc.
1796Burke Regic. Peace Wks. VIII. 406 The spirit licences kept nearly the same level till the stoppage of the distilleries in 1795. 1842Penny Cycl. XXII. 360/1 Spirit-trade. 1846G. E. Day tr. Simon's Anim. Chem. II. 186 Spirit-extract with chloride of sodium. 1862Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 2947, When the instrument is turned in any direction, the spirit bubble will be kept in the centre of its run. 1866Odling Anim. Chem. 68 The heat of the spirit-flame..passing into the water.
b. In the sense ‘used for holding, storing, or selling alcoholic spirits’, as spirit-back, spirit-beck, spirit-bottle, spirit-case, spirit-cellar, spirit-flask, spirit-jar, spirit-room, spirit-shop,spirit vault, etc.
1839Ure Dict. Arts 402 The middle portion..are received into the *spirit-back.
1894Funk's Stand. Dict., *Spirit-beck, a beck or vat for containing the spirit in a distillery.
1786G. Frazer Dove's Flight 76 They have recourse to the *spirit-bottle..for consolation.
1849R. G. Cumming Hunter's Life S. Afr. (1902) 78 They were both very drunk, having broken into my wine-cask and *spirit-case.
1833Loudon Encycl. Archit. §916 The *spirit cellar is to have two tiers of catacombs (bins).
1829G. Griffin Collegians II. xxix. 302 The assault made by Danny on her *spirit flask, which she now..discovered to be empty. 1834Marryat P. Simple (1863) 161 He put the spirit-flask to his mouth. 1961L. G. G. Ramsey Connoisseur New Guide to Antique English Pott., Porc. & Glass 73 Other manifestations of Early Victorian work..were the..spirit flasks formed into the shapes of human figures.
1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Spirit-jar, an earthenware jar.., for sending out spirits.
1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVII. 404/2 That part of the orlop which is over the after magazine, *spirit room, and fish room. c1850Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 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.
1835Mirror of Parliament 20 May 983/2, I would willingly, if there was any chance of succeeding, include *spirit-shops. 1837H. Martineau Soc. Amer. III. 202 Spirit-shops have been shut up by hundreds.
1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Spirit-store, a shop where spirits are kept for sale, wholesale and retail.
1848Mrs. Gaskell Mary Barton II. iv. 57 The rest was taken in a *spirit vault, and the refreshment was a glass of gin. 1863Hawthorne Our Old Home (1883) I. 327 Gin-shops, or what the English call spirit-vaults.
c. With agent-nouns, as spirit-dealer, spirit-drinker, spirit-grocer, spirit-merchant, etc.
1826Art of Brewing (ed. 2) 44 It would be a matter of great convenience if one instrument only were adopted by the trade, as is the case with *spirit-dealers. 1864A. McKay Hist. Kilmarnock 190 He spent a social hour in the house of a spirit-dealer.
1827Edin. Rev. XLVI. 69 The *spirit-drinkers..never can agree in one party. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VI. 685 A man, aged 41, a spirit drinker.
1872Act 35 & 36 Vict. c. 94 §81 The term ‘*spirit grocer’..means any person..having an excise licence to sell spirits by retail.
1841Dickens Barn. Rudge xiii, To be looked upon as a common *spirit-guzzler.
1822Sunday Times 20 Oct. 3/4 Bankrupts... James Cayne, jun. and Thomas Bullock Watts, of Yeovil, Somersetshire, *spirit-merchants. 1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, Spirit-merchant, a vender of spirits.
1896Daily News 4 Mar. 8/5 Her greatest danger came from the *spirit-sellers.
d. With vbl. ns. and ppl. adjs., as spirit-bibing, spirit-boiling, spirit-drinking, etc.
1827Edin. Rev. XLVI. 69 The spirit-bibing party began to indulge in foolish..conversation. 1834Marryat P. Simple (1863) 234 Mr. Apollo, who was above spirit-boiling heat with jealousy. 1897Daily News 11 Feb. 5/5 Mr. Sharpe..observed that the Celtic population are a spirit-drinking people.
e. In the sense ‘that works, acts, etc., by means of spirit or spirits’, as spirit blow-pipe, spirit duplicator, spirit-engine, spirit kettle, spirit-standard, spirit-stove, spirit thermometer, spirit tube, spirit weather-glass.
1842Francis Dict. Arts, Alcoholic, or *Spirit Blow-pipe, a blow-pipe which acts by the inflammation of a stream of the vapor of spirits of wine.
1958Daily Mail 24 July 6/6 We came to the *spirit duplicators... These machines were rather magical. They duplicated in seven different colours.
1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Spirit-engine maker, a manufacturer of the tavern, or bar, engines for drawing spirits for retail sale.
1890Girl's Own Paper 4 Jan. 213/3 An Etna or small *spirit kettle, and a bottle of spirits; some tea and a little sugar. 1923Beerbohm Peep into Past 10 His portly form..may be seen bending over the little spirit-kettle. 1960C. Day Lewis Buried Day vii. 137 Cake-stand,..heavy silver teapot, spirit-kettle and all.
1856Kane Arct. Expl. I. xiv. 154 The reduced mean of our best *spirit-standards gave -67°.
1895Army & Navy Price List, Kettle and *Spirit Stove. 1902E. Banks Newspaper Girl 170 One day I thought I'd cook some over my spirit-stove.
1827Faraday Chem. Manip. iv. (1842) 139 A large and a small bulb, or a mercury and *spirit thermometer, will take different periods to heat and cool.
1842Penny Cycl. XXII. 359/1 The *spirit-tube is used in determining the relative heights of ground at two or more stations.
1704Dict. Rust. s.v., *Spirit Weather-Glass.
f. Applied to various dye-colours obtained from a mixture of dye extracts and solution of tin, as spirit black, spirit blue, spirit brown, etc. Also spirit-colour.
1836Penny Cycl. 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. 1867Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 6) I. 589, 2 quarts spirit pink. Ibid., 1 gallon spirit yellow. Ibid. 590 Spirit black. 1875Knight Dict. Mech. 428/1 Spirit-color printing.
g. Special combs.: spirit fresco, a method of fresco-painting, in which the colours are ground in a medium of wax, elemi resin, artist's copal, oil of spike or spirits of turpentine; spirit-gum (see quot.); spirit-liver, a liver affected by the drinking of spirits; spirit varnish, a varnish prepared by dissolving a resin in spirit; hence spirit-varnish vb.
1880Gambier Parry (title), Spirit Fresco Painting. Ibid. 4 Wash over the part for the morning's work with pure spike oil, to melt the surface (hence the name *Spirit Fresco). 1909J. Ward Fresco Painting 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.
1891Cent. Dict., *Spirit-gum, a quick-drying preparation used by actors and others to fasten false hair on the face.
1905Rolleston Dis. Liver 197 The *spirit livers appeared to be more frequently fatty [than the beer livers].
1850Holtzapffel Turning III. 1375 These resins constitute the basis of what are called *spirit varnishes. 1887Pall Mall G. 7 Mar. 6/1 The miserable, hungry appearance of the wood in all old violins known to be spirit varnished.
▪ II. spirit, v.|ˈspɪrɪt|
[f. spirit n.]
I.
1. trans. To make (the blood, a liquor) of a more active or lively character.
1599Shakes. Hen. V, iii. v. 21 And shall our quick blood, spirited with Wine, Seeme frostie? 1644in Hartlib Legacy (1655) 221 The blood being..spirited with subtle Nitre or Gunpowder, it..is distributed through the body. 1670Evelyn Pomona (ed. 2) 55 Mustard made with Sack preserves boild Cider, and spirits it egregiously. 1822–7Good Study Med. (1829) I. 511 We find it [sc. the blood] return from the lungs spirited with newness of life.
2. To infuse spirit, life, ardour, or energy into (a person); to inspirit, animate, encourage. Also const. for or to.
1608Chapman Dk. Byron iii. i, Like men, that, spirited with wine, Pass dangerous places safe. 1682N. O. Boileau's Lutrin iii. 28 Thy Valour firm d the wavering Troops that day, And spirited their Files with fresh array! 1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 14 May had now began, when..we were once more spirited with milder Weather. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 48, I also found some Rum.., which I had indeed need enough of to spirit me for what was before me. 1736T. Lediard Life Marlborough II. 235 The small Advantages they had obtained..spirited them to entertain several towering Projects. 1758Ann. Reg. 16 Spirited with this advantage, he pushed onwards. 1844H. Rogers Ess. (1874) I. ii. 69 He was further spirited to it by an anonymous letter. 1851Chr. Spect. I. 100 Let the song of faith spirit thee for the fight of faith.
b. With impersonal object.
a1652J. Smith Sel. Disc. ix. (1821) 423 There is a living soul of religion in good men which..spirits all the wheels of motion. 1679J. Goodman Penit. Pard. ii. ii. (1713) 194 Hope and apprehension of feasibleness spirits all industry, actuates all faculties, raises the spirits.
c. To lead or urge on by encouragement.
1682New News fr. Bedlam 30 Give Nature a Phillip with two or three quarts of Mum, to spirit them on for any Attempt. 1792F. Burney Lett. 2 Oct., I wish to spirit him on to collect them [sc. notes] into a pamphlet. 1840Lady C. Bury Hist. of Flirt xv, What was labour to me when my cousin James was at hand to spirit me on?
d. To excite, instigate, or stir up.
a1680Charnock Attrib. God (1834) II. 686 It is not to spirit rebellion, but to give a merciful stop to it. 1701Swift Contests Nobles & Comm. Wks. 1755 II. i. 36 Civil dissentions never fail of introducing and spiriting the ambition of private men.
3. To invest with a spirit or animating principle.
1629T. Adams Rage Oppression Wks. 608 God hath..tempered all our bodies of one clay, and spirited our soules of one breath. 1642Cudworth Disc. Lord's Supper 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. 1650R. Stapylton Strada's Low C. Wars i. 1 A Prince (the great body of whose Empire must be spirited with a great soul). 1717Pope Iliad ix. 98 Thy high commands must spirit all our wars.
b. To invest with a particular spirit, disposition, or character.
Not always clearly distinguishable from 2 and 2 b.
1654Owen Saints' Persev. v. 113 The first great Promise of Christ..is that which Spirits and principles all other promises whatsoever. 1662R. Mathew Unl. Alch. 63 Your rash and hasty zeal, running upon Ordinances not spirited from on high. 1685W. Adams Dedham Pulpit 108 This will spirit and dispose you to practise all those counsels. 1721R. Keith tr. T. à Kempis, Valley of Lillies xxxiii. 105 The holy Spirit, who..taught him, and spirited him, and adorned his whole Life with Virtues. 1728P. Walker Life Peden To Rdr. (1827) p. xxviii, They were some Way fitted and spirited for Trials.
c. Const. by or with (some principle, etc.). Chiefly in passive.
1646J. Gregory Notes & Obs. (1650) 33 Thus spirited with this secret power, it [the Palladium] was dispos'd of in some eminent..place of the City. 1654Owen Saints' Persev. v. 112 The generall intention of God in all Gospel Promises, whereby they being equally Spirited, become as one. 1671Temple Ess., Constit. & Int. Emp. Wks. 1731 I. 107 In all these Wars the People were both united and spirited by the common Love of their Country. 1704Swift Mech. Operat. Spirit Misc. (1711) 300 Spirited by a noble Zeal. 1741Betterton Hist. Eng. Stage i. 21 They had warm Disputes behind the Scenes, which spirited the Rivals with..a natural Resentment to each other.
d. To lead or win over by persuasion.
1656Hammond Leah & Rachel (1844) 10, I shall abhor to spirit over any; but go along with such as are voluntarily desirous to go thither.
4. With up: To stimulate, animate, encourage, stir up, or excite (a person).
1712Addison Spect. No. 482 ⁋2 She is forced..to spirit him up now and then, that he may not grow musty, and unfit for Conversation. 1743Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 11 Not knowing..by whom the Fellow might be spirited up, I acquainted the Captain with the Affair. 1760–72H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) I. 70 Being encouraged and spirited up{ddd}they became, by degrees, quite happy and jovial. 1797Jane Austen Sense & Sens. xxx, Well, I shall spirit up the Colonel as soon as I can. 1847Mrs. Gore Castles in Air xix, ‘You might live at a worse place, Charley!’ said I, spirited up for Yorkshire. 1871Browning Balaust. 106 We want no colony from Athens here, With memories of Salamis,..To spirit up our captives.
b. Const. against, into, or to.
1716Pope Lett. (1735) I. 288 Such a Mind as your's has no need of being spirited up into Honour. 1721Amherst Terræ Fil. No. 8 (1726) 38 They made it their business to..spirit up their neighbours to rebellion. 1728H. Herbert tr. Fleury's Eccl. Hist. I. 328 The powerful party that had been spirited up against him. 1764Goldsm. Hist. Eng. in Lett. (1772) II. 220 The French..continually spirited up the Indians to repel the new comers. 1809W. Irving Knickerb., vi. vii. (1849) 355 Spiriting them up to heroic deeds. 1841W. Duncan Cicero's Sel. Orat. ii. 32 Many very powerful nations were spirited up against us. 1857Trollope Barchester T. (1861) 130 Expecting that he should find his lordship..spirited up by his wife to repeat the rebuke.
c. To instigate or promote (rebellion, etc.).
1715in Westm. Gaz. (1907) 14 May 2/3 Those Incendiaries who came hither on Purpose to spirit up a Rebellion. 1751Smollett Per. Pic. (1779) IV. xcvii. 258 Attempts..to spirit up suits against him. 1770Langhorne Plutarch (1879) I. 255/1 He determined to spirit up a cruel war.
II.
5. To carry off or away, to make away with or remove in a mysterious or dexterous manner: †a. To kidnap, in order to transport to the plantations in America. Obs. (Cf. 6 a.)
1666Lond. Gaz. No. 107/1 Several persons escaped from the Vessel, who pretend they were spirited (as they term it) and invited upon several pretences aboard them, and then..carried away. a1683Oldham Wks (1686) 85 These serve for Baits the simple to ensnare, Like Children spirited with Toys at Fair. 1693I. Mather Cases Consc. (1862) 241 A Servant, who was Spirited or Kidnapt (as they call it) into America.
b. In general use.
1670Caveat to Conventiclers 4 They do in a manner acknowledge, that they were Spirited out of their Bogs and Woods, and transported hither with vain hopes of preferment. 1678Strange News fr. Wicklow 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. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. v. i, Leading men from all the Three Orders are nightly spirited thither. Ibid. ii. v. v, Deserters are spirited over by assiduous crimps. 1858R. S. Surtees Ask Mamma xlv. 199 [He] seemed to spirit the things off the table without sound or effort. 1889Stevenson Edinburgh 46 Many a solid bulk of masonry has been likewise spirited into the air.
6. With away (cf. 5):
a. To kidnap, carry off, or abduct (a person).
Freq. c 1670–c 1690, with reference to transporting boys to the West Indian plantations: cf. 5 a.
1670Marvell Corr. Wks (Grosart) II. 323 An Act..against spiriting away Children beyond Sea. 1682Lond. Gaz. 1723/4 For Spiriting or Stealing away a Young Boy, and sending him to Jamaica. 1697W. Dampier Voy. (1729) I. 178 We anchor'd, and sent..to treat about an Exchange for our Man they had spirited away. 1749Fielding Tom Jones i. ix, Some..intimated, that she was spirited away with a design too black to be mentioned. 1769Blackstone Comm. IV. 219 In the civil law, the offence of spiriting away and stealing men and children..was punished with death. 1820Scott Monast. iv, She was sensible that he would have neither scruple nor difficulty in spiriting away the child. 1858Froude Hist. Eng. III. xvii. 449 The archbishop spirited away the preacher into Kent. 1883Law Rep. 11 Q.B.D. 592 The prosecutor had spirited away..the sister of the accused person, and had shut her up in a convent.
fig.1688Crowne Darius v. Wks. 1874 III. 449 What is it spirits me away to fear?
b. To take away, carry off, by some mysterious means or power; to transport with speed.
1696C. Leslie Snake in Grass (1697) 97 Their Spiriting away the Letter of the Promised Seed. 1726Penn No Cross xiii. §14 An Enemy to the State, for he [the miser] spirits their Money away. 1775R. Chandler Trav. Asia M. (1825) I. Introd. p. xi, The jealousy of the papal court..spirited away these inestimable treasures. 1794Godwin Caleb Williams 69 There is no Mrs. Jakeman now to spirit you away. 1861Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. xxxii, One shake of the hand, and she was spirited away in a moment.
c. Said of the action of spirits.
1825J. Neal Bro. Jonathan I. 253 Peters had been..spirited away in a thunderstorm. 1855W. Irving Chron. Wolfert's Roost 179 Others jocosely hinted that old Pluto..had spirited away the boy to the nether regions. 1889Barrie Window in Thrums 102 It was thocht next mornin' 'at the ghost had spirited them awa.
III. †7. To extract spirit from; to distil. In quot. fig. Obs.—1
1677Cleveland's Poems Ded., Yet how many such Authors must be creamed and spirited to make up his Fuscara?
8. To treat with a solution of spirits.
1883Haldane Workshop Rec. Ser. ii. 145 Worsted-and-Cotton Damasks,..after being spirited and rinsed,..must have a water starch to make them look strong and well when finished. |