Standard Lemma guide

perispirit

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A layer of an abstract, ethereal material that is said by spiritualists to serve as the bond between one's spirit and physical body.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per-der. Ancient Greek περῐ́ (perĭ́)der. English peri- Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys-der.? Latin spīrō Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Italic *-tus Latin -tus Latin spīritus Old French espiritbor. Middle English spirit English spirit English perispirit From peri- + spirit. In Allan Kardec's 1857 book The Spirits Book (Le Livre des Esprits in original French), the term is defined with a direct analogy to perisperm (“layer of nutritive tissue that surrounds the embryo of a seed in some angiosperms”).

Across languages

Translations

2 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: périsprit — bond between spirit and body
  • Portuguese: perispírito — bond between spirit and body