The word 'spiritual' originates from the Latin spiritualis, which is derived from spiritus, meaning "breath, spirit, soul." This Latin term itself comes from the verb spirare, "to breathe," a concept deeply connected to the animating principle of life. In Christian Latin, spiritualis was adopted to distinguish matters of the church and the soul from the temporal or material (carnalis). Thus, the modern English term retains this core logic, evolving from the literal ancient idea of "breath as life-force" to describe anything pertaining to the non-material realm of the human spirit or religious faith.

Structure: spirit (breath, soul) + ual (adjective suffix) - spirit: From Latin spiritus (breath, spirit, soul). The functional role is the core semantic root, carrying the meaning of the non-physical essence. - ual: A Latin-derived adjectival suffix (-alis), indicating "relating to or characterized by."