animism
|an-i-mism|
🇺🇸
/ˈænɪˌmɪzəm/
🇬🇧
/ˈænɪmɪzəm/
things have souls
Etymology
'animism' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'anima', where 'anima' meant 'breath, soul, life'. The English suffix '-ism' (from Greek '-ismos') was added to form a noun indicating a doctrine or belief.
'animism' was coined in English usage in the 19th century (notably by Edward B. Tylor in 1871) from the Latin root 'anima' plus the suffix '-ism'; the term became established in anthropology and religious studies as a technical term.
Initially coined to describe a theoretical category of early religion (the belief in spirits or souls in natural things), the term broadened to refer more generally to any belief or practice that attributes souls or life to non-human entities.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the belief that natural objects, natural phenomena, and the universe possess souls or spiritual essences; attributing life or spirit to inanimate things.
Many indigenous religions include elements of animism, treating rivers, trees, and mountains as alive or sacred.
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Noun 2
in anthropology and religious studies, a doctrine (coined in the 19th century) identifying a basic category of religious belief in which non-human entities are thought to have spiritual essence—often used as a technical term.
Edward B. Tylor used the term animism in 1871 to describe what he regarded as the earliest form of religion.
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Last updated: 2025/08/12 11:51