pneuma

[ noo-muh, nyoo- ]

noun

1. the vital spirit; the soul.
2. Theology. the Spirit of God; the Holy Ghost.

pneuma

/ ˈnjuːmə /

noun

1. philosophy a person's vital spirit, soul, or creative energy Compare psyche

Word History and Origins

Origin of pneuma¹

1875–80; < Greek pneûma literally, breath, wind, akin to pneîn to blow, breathe

Word History and Origins

Origin of pneuma¹

C19: from Greek: breath, spirit, wind; related to pnein to blow, breathe

Example Sentences

A favorite word of his is pneuma: “the breath of life,” in Greek, which he first learned in one of his religion classes.

From New York Times

We leave the realm of biography and information, and we experience breath, pneuma, life itself.

From New York Times

“I suppose in a certain way I was misled by accounts of the Pythia, the pneuma enthusiastikon, poisonous vapors and so forth. Those processes, though sketchy, are more well documented than Bacchic methods, and I thought for a while that the two must be related. Only after a long period of trial and error did it become evident that they were not, and that what we were missing was something, in all likelihood, quite simple. Which it was.”

From Literature

Similarly, Tool’s latest material — “Pneuma,” “Invincible” and the new record’s title track were among the fresh tunes offered up — had the same mix of dense droning notes and constant time changes as the band’s earliest output.

From Washington Post

“She’s dead, yes, but there’s breath, there’s pneuma, there’s birdsong!”

From The New Yorker

Related Words

• conscience
• courage
• ego
• feeling
• genius
• heart
• intellect
• intelligence
• life
• mind
• personality
• spirit
• stuff
• thought
• vitality