animus
From Proto-Italic *anamos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁mos, a nominal derivative of *h₂enh₁- + *-mos, in which the root means "to breathe".
Cognate with Ancient Greek ἄνεμος (ánemos, “wind, breeze”), Old Armenian հողմ (hołm, “wind”), Old Frisian omma (“breath”), English onde (“breath”) (dialectal), Norwegian ånde (“breath”), and possibly Sanskrit अनिल (ánila, “air, wind”); compare also Tocharian B āñme(“self; soul”) and Old Armenian անձն (anjn, “person”).
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈa.ni.mus/, [ˈänɪmʊs̠]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈa.ni.mus/, [ˈäːnimus]
Noun
animus m (genitive animī); second declension
- life, life force, soul, vitality (that life-giving aspect which animates a thing) [ synonyms ▲][ quotations ▼]
- I wish you well from my soul.
- conscience, intellect, mind, reason, sensibility, understanding (the intellectual dimension of the human mind in general; the seat of the rational and other thoughts a person experiences) [ synonyms ▲][ quotations ▼]
- Synonyms: cōnscientia, intellēctus, mēns
- animum adicio ― I address my mind to
- heart, mind, spirit (the affective dimension of the human mind in general; the seat of the emotions and feelings a person experiences) [ synonyms ▲][ quotations ▼]
- affect, emotion, feeling, impulse, passion (the essence of that which is situated within the affective mind) [ synonyms ▲][ quotations ▼]
- certain particular emotional aspects of one's affective makeup: affection; aggression; courage; pride; will (“firmity or fixity of purpose”), determination, firmness, resoluteness, resolve; wrath, anger, ire [ synonyms ▲][ quotations ▼]
- motive, motivation, reason (any intellectually or emotionally based incentive to act in a particular manner) [ synonym ▲][ quotations ▼]
- Synonym: mōtīvum (Late Latin)
- aim, aspiration, design, idea, intent, intention, plan, purpose, resolution (that which exists in the mind as a formulation, and causes a subject to act or to behave in a particular manner) [ synonyms ▲][ quotations ▼]
- (metonymically) disposition, inclination, nature, temperament (the inherent emotional disposition of a human being, by extension of the affective dimension) [ synonyms ▲][ quotations ▼]
- Synonyms: mōs, dispositiō, inclīnātiō, temperamentum
- affect, mood, temper (the instant mental state of a human being)
- (colloquial, metonymically) beloved. dearest, heart, soul (as a term of endearment)
- (in the plural) bravado, elation, high spirits
- adicere/facere animos alicui ― to boost someone's spirits
Usage notes
Latin animus has a broad and disparate semantic field of apparent incongruity. At its most basic, animus means "that which animates" a thing, making that thing alive and/or causing it to act and behave in a particular way. It is this meaning which ties the disparate senses of animus together and renders them commensurate. Subsumed under this basic meaning are: the power which renders life itself; the mind, both rational (the intellect) and emotional (the affect); individual rational thoughts (products of the intellect); emotions (products of the affect, both generally and specifically); motivations with both internal and external etiologies; the purposes and intentions which derive from thoughts and emotions; general dispositions; and instantaneous mental states.
Declension
Second-declension noun.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | animus | animī |
| Genitive | animī | animōrum |
| Dative | animō | animīs |
| Accusative | animum | animōs |
| Ablative | animō | animīs |
| Vocative | anime | animī |