英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

spiritual (adj.)[spiritual 词源字典]: c. 1300, "of or concerning the spirit" (especially in religious aspects), from Old French spirituel, esperituel (12c.) or directly from a Medieval Latin ecclesiastical use of Latin spiritualis "of or pertaining to breath, breathing, wind, or air; pertaining to spirit," from spiritus "of breathing, of the spirit" (see spirit (n.)). Meaning "of or concerning the church" is attested from mid-14c. Related: Spiritually. An Old English word for "spiritual" was godcundlic.
In avibus intellige studia spiritualia, in animalibus exercitia corporalia [Richard of St. Victoror (1110-1173): "Watch birds to understand how spiritual things move, animals to understand physical motion." - E.P.]
[spiritual etymology, spiritual origin, 英语词源]
spiritual (n.): "African-American religious song," 1866, from spiritual (adj.). Earlier "a spiritual thing" (1660s).
spiritual-minded (adj.): 1526 (Tindale), from spiritual (adj.) + minded. Related: Spiritual-mindedness.
spiritualism (n.): 1796, "advocacy of a spiritual view" (opposed to materialism), from spiritual + -ism. Table-rapping sense is from 1853.
spiritualist (n.): 1852, "one who believes in the ability of the living to communicate with the dead via a medium," from spiritual + -ist (also see spirit (n.)). Earlier (1640s) "one with regard for spiritual things." Related Spiritualistic.
Every two or three years the Americans have a paroxysm of humbug -- ... at the present time it is Spiritual-ism. [J.Dix, "Transatlantic Tracings," 1853]
spirituality (n.): early 15c., "the clergy," also "ecclesiastical property; things pertaining to the Church," from Middle French spiritualite, from Late Latin spiritualitatem (nominative spiritualitas), from Latin spiritualis (see spiritual). Meaning "quality of being spiritual" is from c. 1500; seldom-used sense of "fact or condition of being a spirit" is from 1680s. An earlier form was spiritualty (late 14c.).

English is blessed with multiple variant forms of many words. But it has made scant use of them; for every pair historic/historical; realty/reality, or luxuriant/luxurious there is a spiritualty/spirituality or a specialty/speciality, with two distinct forms, two senses requiring differentiation, hundreds of years gone by, and but little progress made in in sorting them out.
spiritualize (v.): 1630s, from spiritual (adj.) + -ize, or from French spiritualiser. Related: Spiritualize; spiritualizing; spiritualization.
spiritualty (n.): late 14c., "spirituality, quality of being spiritual;" from c. 1400 as "the clergy," from Old French espiritualte, espirituaute, variants of spiritualite, from Late Latin spiritualitatem (see spirituality).
spirituous (adj.): 1590s, "spirited, animated," from Latin spiritus (see spirit (n.)) + -ous, or else from Middle French spiritueux (16c.), from Vulgar Latin *spirituosus, from Latin spiritus. Meaning "containing alcohol" is from 1680s. Related: Spiritously; spiritousness.
spiro-: word-forming element meaning "twisted, spiraled, whorled," from comb. form of Latin spira "a coil, twist," from Greek speira (see spiral (adj.)).
spirochete (n.): 1877, from Modern Latin Spirochæta, the genus name, from spiro- Modern Latin comb. form of Greek speira "a coil" (see spiral (adj.)) + Greek khaite "hair" (see chaeto-).
spirometer (n.): contrivance for measuring lung capacity, 1846, formed irregularly from Latin spirare "to breathe" (see spirit (n.)) + -meter. Related: Spirometry.
spissitude (n.): "density, thickness, compactness," mid-15c., from Latin spissitudo "thickness, density," from spissus "thick, dense, compact, close" (source of Italian spesso, Spanish espeso, Old French espes, French épais). Related: Spissated.
spit (v.1): "expel saliva," Old English spittan (Anglian), spætan (West Saxon), transitive and intransitive, past tense *spytte, from Proto-Germanic *spitjan, from PIE *sp(y)eu-, of imitative origin (see spew (v.)). Not the usual Old English word for this; spætlan (see spittle) and spiwan are more common; all are from the same root. To spit as a gesture of contempt (especially at someone) is in Old English. Related: Spat; spitting.
spit (n.1): "saliva," early 14c., from spit (v.1). Meaning "the very likeness" in modern use is attested from 1825 (as in spitting image, attested from 1887); compare French craché in same sense. Spit-curl (1831) was originally considered colloquial or vulgar. Military phrase spit and polish first recorded 1895.
spit (n.2): "sharp-pointed rod for roasting meat," late Old English spitu "a spit," from Proto-Germanic *spituz (cognates: Middle Dutch and Dutch spit, Swedish spett (which perhaps is from Low German), Old High German spiz, German Spieß "roasting spit," German spitz "pointed"), from PIE *spei- "sharp point" (see spike (n.1)). This is also the source of the word meaning "sandy point" (1670s). Old French espois, Spanish espeto "spit" are Germanic loan-words. The verb meaning "to put on a spit" is recorded from c. 1200.
spit (v.2): c. 1200, "put on a spit, thrust with a spit," from late Old English sputtian "to spit" (for cooking), from spit (n.2). Meaning "pierce with a weapon, transfix, impale" is from early 15c. Related: Spitted; spitting. Nares' Glossary has spit-frog "a small sword."
Spitalfields: district east of London, famed for the work of refugee Huguenot weavers who took up residence there, from St. Mary Spital, from spital, a Middle English shortened form of hospital, sometimes also spittle, hence spittle-man "one who lives in a hospital."
spitball (n.): 1846 in the schoolboy sense, "bit of paper chewed and rounded as a missile;" 1904 in the baseball sense, from spit (n.1) + ball (n.1).
spite (n.): c. 1300, shortened form of despit "malice" (see despite). Corresponding to Middle Dutch spijt, Middle Low German spyt, Middle Swedish spit. In 17c. commonly spelled spight. Phrase in spite of is recorded from c. 1400, literally "in defiance or contempt of," hence "notwithstanding." Spite-fence "barrier erected to cause annoyance" is from 1889.