soul n.1

"A substantial entity believed to be that in each person which lives, feels, thinks, and wills" [Century Dictionary], Middle English soule, from Old English sawol "spiritual and emotional part of a person, animate existence; life, living being," from Proto-Germanic *saiwalō (source also of Old Saxon seola, Old Norse sala, Old Frisian sele, Middle Dutch siele, Dutch ziel, Old High German seula, German Seele, Gothic saiwala), a word of uncertain origin.

It has been suspected to have meant originally "coming from or belonging to the sea," the supposed stopping place of the soul before birth or after death [Barnhart]; if so, it would be from Proto-Germanic *saiwaz (see sea). Klein explains this as "from the lake," as a dwelling-place of souls in ancient northern Europe.

The meaning "disembodied spirit of a deceased person" is attested in Old English. As a synonym for "person, individual, human being" (as in every living soul) it dates from early 14c. Soul-searching (n.) "deep self-reflection, examination of one's conscience" is attested from 1871, from the phrase used as a present-participle adjective (1610s). Distinguishing soul from spirit is a matter best left to theologians.

soul n.2

1946, "instinctive quality felt by Black Americans as an attribute," jazz slang, from soul (n.1), probably in the sense of "the animating or essential part." From this sense are formations such as soul brother (1957), soul sister (1967), soul food (1957 in this sense, c. 1200 as "spiritual sustenance"), etc. Soul music, originally a type of popular music typically sung by Black singers and combining elements of R&B and gospel, is so called by 1961; William James used the term in 1900, in a spiritual/romantic sense, but in reference to inner music.

词汇	soul
词源	soul n.1 "A substantial entity believed to be that in each person which lives, feels, thinks, and wills" [Century Dictionary], Middle English soule, from Old English sawol "spiritual and emotional part of a person, animate existence; life, living being," from Proto-Germanic saiwalō (source also of Old Saxon seola, Old Norse sala, Old Frisian sele, Middle Dutch siele, Dutch ziel, Old High German seula, German Seele, Gothic saiwala), a word of uncertain origin. It has been suspected to have meant originally "coming from or belonging to the sea," the supposed stopping place of the soul before birth or after death [Barnhart]; if so, it would be from Proto-Germanic saiwaz (see sea). Klein explains this as "from the lake," as a dwelling-place of souls in ancient northern Europe. The meaning "disembodied spirit of a deceased person" is attested in Old English. As a synonym for "person, individual, human being" (as in every living soul) it dates from early 14c. Soul-searching (n.) "deep self-reflection, examination of one's conscience" is attested from 1871, from the phrase used as a present-participle adjective (1610s). Distinguishing soul from spirit is a matter best left to theologians. soul n.2 1946, "instinctive quality felt by Black Americans as an attribute," jazz slang, from soul (n.1), probably in the sense of "the animating or essential part." From this sense are formations such as soul brother (1957), soul sister (1967), soul food (1957 in this sense, c. 1200 as "spiritual sustenance"), etc. Soul music, originally a type of popular music typically sung by Black singers and combining elements of R&B and gospel, is so called by 1961; William James used the term in 1900, in a spiritual/romantic sense, but in reference to inner music. Entries linking to soul sea n. Middle English se, seo, from Old English sæ,"sheet of water, sea, lake, pool," from Proto-Germanic saiwa- (source also of Old Saxon seo, Old Frisian se, Middle Dutch see, Dutch zee, German See, Swedish sjö), of unknown origin, outside connections "wholly doubtful" [Buck], and an IE etymon "has generally been doubted" [Boutkan]. The meaning "any great mass or large quantity" (of anything) is from c. 1200. Germanic languages also use the more general Indo-European word (represented by English mere (n.1)) but have no firm distinction between "sea" and "lake," either large or small, by inland or open, salt or fresh. This may reflect the Baltic geography where the languages are thought to have originated. The two words are used more or less interchangeably in Germanic, and exist in opposite senses (such as Gothic saiws "lake, marshland," marei "sea;" but Dutch zee "sea," meer "lake"). Compare also Old Norse sær "sea," but Danish sø, usually "lake" but "sea" in phrases. German See is "sea" (fem.) or "lake" (masc.). Boutkan writes that the sea words in Germanic likely were originally "lake," and the older word for "sea" is represented by haff. The single Old English word sæ glosses Latin mare, aequor, pontus, pelagus, and marmor. The range in the Old English word included "the expanse of salt water that covers much of the world" to individual great, distinctly limited bodies of water; it also was used of inland seas, bogs, lakes, rivers, and the Bristol Channel. The meaning "dark area of the moon's surface" is attested from 1660s (see mare (n.2)); before the invention of telescopes they were supposed to be water. The phrase sea change* "transformation," literally "a change wrought by the sea," is attested from 1610, first in Shakespeare ("The Tempest," I.ii). Sea legs, humorous colloquial term implying ability to walk on a ship's deck when she is pitching or rolling is from 1712. At sea in the figurative sense of "perplexed" is attested from 1768, from literal sense (in reference to ships) of "out of sight of land" (c. 1300). The sea, the most intact and ancient thing on the globe. Everything it touches is a ruin; everything it abandons is new. [Paul Valéry, "Notebook" entry, 1921, transl. Nathaniel Brudavsky-Brody] soulful adj. "full of feeling, expressive of emotion," 1860, from soul (n.1) + -ful. The meaning "expressive of characteristic Black feeling" is by 1964 (see soul (n.2)). Earlier as a noun (1640s), "as much as a soul can hold." Related: Soulfully; soulfulness. Middle English had souli "of or pertaining to souls." sea (n.)soulful (adj.)oversoul (n.)soulless (adj.)soulmate (n.) updated on March 23, 2023
随便看	tempest tempestuous templar template temple tempo temporal temporality temporary temporize tempt temptation tempter tempting temptress tempura *ten- ten tenable tenacious tenacity tenant tend tendency tendential

soul n.1

Entries linking to soul