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Origin of the word inspire

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What does the word inspire have to do with air? Kevin Hall created an interesting etymological work entitled Aspire!: Discovering Your Purpose Through the Power of Words. As the title and many references within the book point out, many words based on the root SPIR have their origins in the air, essence or breathing. In fact one of the words addressed is the word inspire and many reviewers have used that one to describe the book itself.

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It bears some semantic similarities to the Latin and Greek roots that sprouted "animation" and "psychology", but the etymology doesn't quite work: Spirit, from spiritus in Latin, means "breath" as well as "soul" or "courage".  Peis (or speis) comes from Indo-European roots and refers to rushing air, breathing.  I'll dig a little deeper.

The word "inspire" comes from the Latin word inspirare, which means "to breath into" or "to infuse." The prefix "in-" means "into," and "spirare" means "to breathe."  The term originally referred to the idea that the divine breathed inspiration into humans.  As part of the English language, it was expanded to mean being mentally stimulated or motivated.

The word was spelled inspirer in Old French, and entered the English language in the 14th century as "inspire." Over time, the spelling and pronunciation changed to "inspire."  Today, the word "inspire" refers to a feeling of motivation or creativity, as well as the act of motivating or encouraging someone.  You can also inhale air or take in a substance when you're inspired by a scent or taste.

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Here are some highlights from the long list of ways to use the word "inspire":

- Inspiration: This is the noun form of "inspire" and means to be mentally stimulated to do or feel something, or the thing that stimulates us.  An artist's painting was inspired by the beautiful scenery.

- The past tense and past participle of inspire describe something that has been motivated or influenced by inspiration.  "The speech was so inspiring that the audience felt inspired."

- This is the present participle form of "inspire" and describes something that's inspiring right now.  Students are inspired by the teacher's passion for science.

- The word inspirational describes something that inspires or motivates.  "The motivational speaker gave the audience an inspirational message."

- It's an adverb that describes something done inspiringly.  In spite of her injury, the athlete performed inspirationally.

- Motivate or encourage someone to do something: This is a common usage of the verb "inspire."  "The coach inspired the team to give it their all."

- Inspire yourself: This means to feel motivated or influenced by something.  A poem was inspired by the beauty of nature, for example.

The other pages on this website talk about air pollution, weather, and related stuff.  Here's the list.

The Word Inspire and related Words

Go back from The Word Inspire to the Search Engines for Weather web page.

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Do YOU Know where the word inspire Came from?

Here's a short lexicon listing dozens of common words and phrases based on the root used in the word INSPIRE.

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Thank you to my research and writing assistants, ChatGPT and WordTune, as well as Wombo for the images.