anima
Meaning
(in jungian psychology) the feminine part of a man's personality, in contrast to the animus.
the inner self or soul, especially as the source of life and consciousness.
Structure
Usage
the therapist encouraged him to explore his anima to achieve greater psychological balance.
in his dreams, the anima often appeared as a guiding female figure.
the concept of the anima is central to understanding jung's theory of the collective unconscious.
Etymology
the word 'anima' is a direct borrowing from latin, where it means "soul, spirit, breath, life." it is a simplex word in english and cannot be segmented into smaller meaningful parts derived from its current spelling. its latin ancestor is part of a rich indo-european family of words related to breath and wind, such as the greek 'anemos' (wind) and sanskrit 'aniti' (breathes). in english, it was adopted in the early 20th century by carl jung to name a key archetype of the unconscious, giving the ancient term a specific psychological meaning. the journey from a general term for the life principle to a specialized concept in analytical psychology illustrates the adaptation of classical vocabulary to modern intellectual frameworks.
Analysis
anima (latin, noun: soul, spirit, life force). it functions as the core root, carrying the entire semantic meaning of the word.