ante-animism
|an-te-a-ni-mism|
/ˌæntiˈænɪmɪzəm/
before animism
Etymology
'ante-animism' originates from Latin prefix 'ante-' (meaning 'before') combined with 'animism', which itself derives from Latin 'anima' meaning 'breath' or 'soul'.
'animism' was coined in the 19th century (notably used by anthropologists such as Edward Tylor) from Latin 'anima'; the compound 'ante-animism' was formed in modern English by adding the Latin prefix 'ante-' to 'animism' to denote a stage before animistic belief.
Initially it simply denoted 'before animism' (a chronological or conceptual 'prior to' animistic belief); over time it has come to be used more analytically to refer to hypothetical pre-animistic religious attitudes or stages in theories of religious development.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a hypothesized or described stage or set of beliefs that precedes animism; the notion that religious or spiritual thought existed in a form prior to attributing spirits to objects or beings.
Some anthropologists use the term ante-animism to discuss possible religious attitudes that predate full animistic belief.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/12/02 15:53