pre-animism
|pre-an-i-mism|
/ˌpriːˈænɪmɪzəm/
beliefs before animism
Etymology
'pre-animism' originates from the combining of the prefix 'pre-' (from Latin 'prae') meaning 'before' and the noun 'animism' (from Latin 'anima') where 'anima' meant 'breath, soul'.
'animism' was formed in the 19th century (notably used by E.B. Tylor) from Latin 'anima' via French 'animisme' into English 'animism'; the prefix 'pre-' (from Latin 'prae') was later attached in modern English to denote a stage 'before' animism, producing the compound 'pre-animism'.
Initially, 'pre-animism' was used simply to indicate a temporal or developmental position 'before animism'; over time it has come to be used as a theoretical category in anthropology and religious studies to describe particular kinds of belief (for example, belief in impersonal forces) that differ qualitatively from classic animistic beliefs in distinct spirits.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a hypothesized stage or category in the study of religion and the history of belief that precedes animism; used to describe beliefs or practices in which supernatural power or agency is attributed to impersonal forces or phenomena rather than to distinct spirits or souls.
Some anthropologists use the term pre-animism to discuss early ideas of impersonal force (such as mana) that later developed into beliefs in spirits.
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Noun 2
a scholarly label for beliefs or cultural practices that are chronologically or developmentally earlier than animistic systems; often applied in comparative studies of religion and cognitive approaches to religious origins.
In comparative religion, pre-animism is sometimes posited to explain transitional forms between magical thinking and full animistic belief.
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Last updated: 2025/09/15 00:10