spirituality
Meaning
the quality or state of being concerned with religion or the human spirit.
the quality of being spiritual, not physical or worldly.
Structure
Usage
her deep spirituality guides all her decisions and actions.
the retreat was focused on personal growth and spirituality.
there is a growing interest in spirituality outside of organized religion.
Etymology
the word 'spirituality' is built upon the latin noun 'spiritus', which originally meant "breathing, breath, air, soul, life". this term itself derives from the verb 'spirare', "to breathe", a concept with deep roots in proto-indo-european expressions for breath and life force. the latin suffix '-alis' was added to form the adjective 'spiritualis', meaning "of or pertaining to breath, spirit, or the soul". english then adopted this adjective and appended the abstract noun-forming suffix '-ity', borrowed from latin '-itas', to create 'spirituality'. thus, the term's literal journey from "breath" to its modern meaning encapsulates the conceptual evolution where the animating breath became synonymous with the immaterial essence, and finally with the quality of being focused on that essence.
Analysis
spirit: from latin 'spiritus' meaning "breath, spirit". functions as the core root denoting the non-physical essence. u: a connecting vowel (epenthetic) used for euphony in english word formation. al: a suffix from latin '-alis', forming adjectives meaning "of, relating to, or characterized by". ity: a noun-forming suffix from latin '-itas', indicating a state, condition, or quality.