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.
Here is an example of how etymology us useful: Spirit, from spiritus in Latin, means "breath" as well as "soul" or "courage", it bears some semantic similarity to the Latin and Greek roots that sprouted "animation" and "psychology", but the etymology doesn't quite work. Looking further back in time the root peis (or speis) comes from Indo-European origins and addresses the sound of rushing air, breathing.
Aside from the word inspire, the other pages on this website address the science of air pollution, weather and related topics. Following is the list of words.
The Word Inspire and other Words
| Word/phrase | Quick definition |
|---|---|
| Acrospire | New seedling protruding from a seed |
| Antiperspirant | Consumer product to reduce sweating in underarms |
| Ardent Spirits | Concentrated alcohol mixture |
| Artificial Respiration | Forcing air into somebody's lungs to prolong life |
| Aspirant | Ambitious person |
| Aspirate | Moving air, or the sound produced by moving air |
| Aspirate Mutation | Altering pronounciation of specific consonant sounds |
| Aspiration | Ambition, Hope |
| Aspiration | Supply of air |
| Aspirator | Air pump |
| Aspire | To determine and pursue your dream job |
| Aspirin | Brand name of acetylsalicylic acid |
| Awe-Inspiring | Incredible, evoking strong emotion |
| Broach Spire | Conical spire with a square base and octagonal cross section near the tip |
| Conspiracy | Plan (often evil) involving two or more persons, Breathing together |
| Conspiracy Theory | Belief that evil plan exists |
| Conspiration | Plan (often unlawful) involving two or more persons |
| Conspirator | Organized crime participant |
| Conspire | To work with someone and create a manipulative force |
| Dispirit(ed) | Discourage(d) |
| Expire | To die, come to an end |
| High Spirited | Enthusiastic, bold |
| Holy Spirit | One of the three parts of the Christian Holy Trinity |
| Hot-Spirited | Possessing a touchy temper |
| In Spirit | In mood, in essence, in meaning |
| Inspiration | Breathing air, stimulating |
| Inspiration | Receiving divine information |
| Inspire | The word inspire means to move air |
| Inspire | The word inspire also means to communicate with a spirit |
| Kindrid Spirit | True companion |
| Leptospirosis | Bacterial disease obtained from animals |
| Low-Spirited | Discouraged |
| Methylated Spirit | Denatured ethynol, diluted with methanol |
| Negro Spiritual | Acapella African-American Christian music |
| Perspiration | Emissions released through skin |
| Perspire | Sweat, release emissions through a membrane |
| Philatelically Inspired | Describes collectors' items available from the Post Office |
| Photorespiration | Absorption of oxygen and release of carbon dioxide, associated with rubisco |
| Preaspiration | Airy sound used in some languages |
| Pyroacetic Spirit | Acetone, CH2-CO-CH2 |
| Rectified Spirit | Everclear, nearly pure ethanol |
| Respiration | Breathing, exchanging gases by lungs, gills or other means |
| Respiratory | Denotes mechanism used for breathing |
| Respiratory Pigment | Iron or other metal-based molecule that absorbs oxygen |
| Respiratory Tract | Anatomical mechanism used for breathing |
| Respire | To breathe |
| Respirocyte | Artificial blood |
| Respirometer | Instrument for measuring rate of breathing |
| SARS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome | Epidemic respiratory disease which made daily headlines in 2003 |
| Spiracle | Breathing hole in some organisms |
| Spiral | A curve that goes around a center point, or a centre-line in the case of a helix |
| Spiral Pass | A method of simultaneously throwing and spinning a football |
| Spiral Staircase | Fancy helical stairway |
| Spirant | Airy sound used in many languages |
| Spire | Blade of grass |
| Spire | Sharp pointy part of roof (usually on a church) |
| Spirillum | Spiral shaped bacteria |
| Spirit | Life, vitality |
| Spirit | Supernatural, essence or being |
| Spirit | State of mind, mood |
| Spirit | Human soul |
| Spirit Away | To steal |
| Spirit Lamp | Alcohol-burning light |
| Spirit Level | Construction level with a bubble of air in an alcohol-filled chamber |
| Spirit of Wine | Aqua vitae, water of life, concentrated or distilled wine, |
| Spirit, Ardent | Concentrated alcohol mixture |
| Spirited | Enthusiastic or elated |
| Spirits | Concentrated alcohol-containing beverage |
| Spiritual | Describes works of art dealing with the soul, Christianity or the supernatural, |
| Spiritual Desertion | Leaving one's own church and faith |
| Spiritual Leader | Reverend, pastor or other religious leader |
| Spiritual World | The great beyond, afterlife, hereafter, plane of existance |
| Spiritualism | Belief in an afterlife or that we can communicate with the dead |
| Spirituality | Going beyond material life and possessions |
| Spiro Compound | Molecule with two organic rings connected by a single atom |
| Spirochete | Helical "gram-negative" bacteria |
| Spirograph | Brand name of toy capable of drawing spirals |
| Spirograph, spirometer | Instruments for measuring rate of breathing |
| Spyro Grya | 1970's jazz-pop-fusion crossover band |
| Suspiration | Breathing |
| Transpire | To evaporate or perspire |
| Transpire | To occur (informal) |
| Uninspired | Boring, bored |
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