Soul

• POS: Noun

CIDE DICTIONARY

Soul, a. 

 Sole.  Chaucer.  [1913 Webster]

Soul, v. i. [F. soûler to satiate. See Soil to feed.].

 To afford suitable sustenance.  Warner.  [1913 Webster]

Soul, n. [OE. soule, saule, AS. sāwel, sāwl; akin to OFries. sle, OS. sola, D. ziel, G. seele, OHG. sla, sula, Icel. sāla, Sw. själ, Dan. siæl, Goth. saiwala; of uncertain origin, perhaps akin to L. saeculum a lifetime, age (cf. Secular.)].

•  The spiritual, rational, and immortal part in man; that part of man which enables him to think, and which renders him a subject of moral government; -- sometimes, in distinction from the higher nature, or spirit, of man, the so-called animal soul, that is, the seat of life, the sensitive affections and phantasy, exclusive of the voluntary and rational powers; -- sometimes, in distinction from the mind, the moral and emotional part of man's nature, the seat of feeling, in distinction from intellect; -- sometimes, the intellect only; the understanding; the seat of knowledge, as distinguished from feeling. In a more general sense, “an animating, separable, surviving entity, the vehicle of individual personal existence.”  Tylor.  [1913 Webster]

  "The eyes of our souls only then begin to see, when our bodily eyes are closing."  [1913 Webster]
•  The seat of real life or vitality; the source of action; the animating or essential part.  Milton.  [1913 Webster]

  "Thou sun, of this great world both eye and soul."  [1913 Webster]
•  The leader; the inspirer; the moving spirit; the heart; as, the soul of an enterprise; an able general is the soul of his army.  [1913 Webster]

  "He is the very soul of bounty!"  [1913 Webster]
•  Energy; courage; spirit; fervor; affection, or any other noble manifestation of the heart or moral nature; inherent power or goodness.  [1913 Webster]

  "That he wants algebra he must confess;
  But not a soul to give our arms success."  [1913 Webster]
•  A human being; a person; -- a familiar appellation, usually with a qualifying epithet; as, poor soul.  [1913 Webster]

  "As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country."  [1913 Webster]

  "God forbid so many simple souls
  Should perish by the sword!"  [1913 Webster]

  "Now mistress Gilpin (careful soul)."  [1913 Webster]
•  A pure or disembodied spirit.  [1913 Webster]

  "That to his only Son . . . every soul in heaven
  Shall bend the knee."  [1913 Webster]
•  A perceived shared community and awareness among African-Americans.  [PJC]
•  Soul music.  [PJC]

  " Soul is used in the formation of numerous compounds, most of which are of obvious signification; as, soul-betraying, soul-consuming, soul-destroying, soul-distracting, soul-enfeebling, soul-exalting, soul-felt, soul-harrowing, soul-piercing, soul-quickening, soul-reviving, soul-stirring, soul-subduing, soul-withering, etc."  [1913 Webster]

Cure of souls. See Cure, n., 2. -- Soul bell, the passing bell. Bp. Hall. -- Soul foot. See Soul scot, below. [Obs.] -- Soul scot or Soul shot. [Soul + scot, or shot; cf. AS. sāwelsceat.] (O. Eccl. Law) A funeral duty paid in former times for a requiem for the soul. Ayliffe.

Syn. -- Spirit; life; courage; fire; ardor.

Soul, v. t. 

 To indue with a soul; to furnish with a soul or mind.  Chaucer.  [1913 Webster]

Soul, a. 

 By or for African-Americans, or characteristic of their culture; as, soul music; soul newspapers; soul food.  [PJC]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Soul, n.
1 the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being, often regarded as immortal.
2 the moral or emotional or intellectual nature of a person or animal.
3 the personification or pattern of something (the very soul of discretion).
4 an individual (not a soul in sight).
5 a a person regarded with familiarity or pity etc. (the poor soul was utterly confused). b a person regarded as embodying moral or intellectual qualities (left that to meaner souls).
6 a person regarded as the animating or essential part of something (the life and soul of the party).
7 emotional or intellectual energy or intensity, esp. as revealed in a work of art (pictures that lack soul).
8 Black American culture or music etc.

Idiom

soul-destroying (of an activity etc.) deadeningly monotonous. soul food the traditional food of American Blacks. soul mate a person ideally suited to another. soul music a kind of music incorporating elements of rhythm and blues and gospel music, popularized by American Blacks. the soul of honour a person incapable of dishonourable conduct. soul-searching n. the examination of one's emotions and motives.
--adj. characterized by this. upon my soul an exclamation of surprise.

Derivative

-souled adj. (in comb.).

Etymology

OE sawol, sawel, sawl, f. Gmc

DEVIL DICTIONARY

Soul

n. A spiritual entity concerning which there hath been brave disputation. Plato held that those souls which in a previous state of existence (antedating Athens) had obtained the clearest glimpses of eternal truth entered into the bodies of persons who became philosophers. Plato himself was a philosopher. The souls that had least contemplated divine truth animated the bodies of usurpers and despots. Dionysius I, who had threatened to decapitate the broad- browed philosopher, was a usurper and a despot. Plato, doubtless, was not the first to construct a system of philosophy that could be quoted against his enemies; certainly he was not the last.
"Concerning the nature of the soul," saith the renowned author of _Diversiones Sanctorum_, "there hath been hardly more argument than that of its place in the body. Mine own belief is that the soul hath her seat in the abdomen -- in which faith we may discern and interpret a truth hitherto unintelligible, namely that the glutton is of all men most devout. He is said in the Scripture to 'make a god of his belly' -- why, then, should he not be pious, having ever his Deity with him to freshen his faith? Who so well as he can know the might and majesty that he shrines? Truly and soberly, the soul and the stomach are one Divine Entity; and such was the belief of Promasius, who nevertheless erred in denying it immortality. He had observed that its visible and material substance failed and decayed with the rest of the body after death, but of its immaterial essence he knew nothing. This is what we call the Appetite, and it survives the wreck and reek of mortality, to be rewarded or punished in another world, according to what it hath demanded in the flesh. The Appetite whose coarse clamoring was for the unwholesome viands of the general market and the public refectory shall be cast into eternal famine, whilst that which firmly through civilly insisted on ortolans, caviare, terrapin, anchovies, _pates de foie gras_ and all such Christian comestibles shall flesh its spiritual tooth in the souls of them forever and ever, and wreak its divine thirst upon the immortal parts of the rarest and richest wines ever quaffed here below. Such is my religious faith, though I grieve to confess that neither His Holiness the Pope nor His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury (whom I equally and profoundly revere) will assent to its dissemination."

THESAURUS

Soul

Adamite, Geist, Muse, afflatus, an existence, anima, anima humana, animating force, animus, ardency, ardor, article, astral body, atman, axiom, ba, bathmism, beating heart, being, biological clock, biorhythm, blood, body, bones, bosom, breast, breath, breath of life, buddhi, cat, center, center of life, chap, character, conscience, core, creative thought, creativity, creature, critter, customer, daemon, daimonion, deepest recesses, demon, differentiation, differentness, distillate, distillation, distinctiveness, divine afflatus, divine breath, divine spark, duck, dynamism, earthling, ecstasy, ego, egohood, elan vital, elixir, embodiment, emotion, energy, entelechy, entity, esoteric reality, esprit, essence, essence of life, essential, excitement, fabric, feeling, fellow, fervency, fervidness, fervor, fire, fire of genius, flower, focus, force, force of life, fundamental, furor, fury, genius, gist, gravamen, gross body, groundling, growth force, gusto, guts, guy, hand, head, heart, heart of hearts, heartbeat, heartblood, heartiness, heartstrings, heat, homo, human, human being, human factor, hypostasis, identity, impassionedness, impulse of life, incarnation, individual, individualism, individuality, inmost heart, inmost soul, inner, inner essence, inner landscape, inner life, inner man, inner nature, inner recess, inner self, innermost being, inside, inspiration, inspiriting force, integer, integrity, intellect, interior, interior man, intern, internal, intrados, inward, item, jiva, jivatma, joker, kama, kernel, khu, life, life breath, life cycle, life essence, life force, life principle, life process, lifeblood, linga sharira, liveliness, living force, living soul, man, manas, manes, marrow, material, matter, meat, medium, mind, module, monad, mortal, nephesh, nerve center, nominalism, nonconformity, nose, noumenon, nub, nucleus, nuts and bolts, object, one, oneness, organism, particularism, particularity, party, passion, passionateness, penetralia, person, persona, personage, personal equation, personal identity, personality, personification, personship, physical body, pith, pneuma, point, postulate, prana, principle, principle of desire, psyche, purusha, quick, quid, quiddity, quintessence, reason, recesses, relish, ruach, sap, savor, seat of life, secret heart, secret place, secret places, self-identity, selfhood, selfness, sentiment, shade, shadow, sincerity, single, singleton, singularity, somebody, someone, something, spark of life, spirit, spiritual being, spiritus, sthula sharira, stuff, substance, sum and substance, talent, tellurian, terran, the nitty-gritty, the self, thing, true being, true inwardness, typification, uniqueness, unit, vehemence, verve, vis vitae, vis vitalis, viscera, vital center, vital energy, vital flame, vital fluid, vital force, vital principle, vital spark, vital spirit, vitality, vitals, vivacity, warmth, warmth of feeling, woman, worldling, zeal

ROGET THESAURUS

Soul

Intrinsicality

N intrinsicality, inbeing, inherence, inhesion, subjectiveness, ego, egohood, essence, noumenon, essentialness, essential part, quintessence, incarnation, quiddity, gist, pith, marrow, core, sap, lifeblood, backbone, heart, soul, important part, principle, nature, constitution, character, type, quality, crasis, diathesis, habit, temper, temperament, spirit, humor, grain, disposition, endowment, capacity, capability, moods, declensions, features, aspects, peculiarities, idiosyncrasy, oddity, idiocrasy, diagnostics, derived from within, subjective, intrinsic, intrinsical, fundamental, normal, implanted, inherent, essential, natural, innate, inborn, inbred, ingrained, inwrought, coeval with birth, genetous, haematobious, syngenic, radical, incarnate, thoroughbred, hereditary, inherited, immanent, congenital, congenite, connate, running in the blood, ingenerate, ingenite, indigenous, in the grain, bred in the bone, instinctive, inward, internal, to the manner born, virtual, characteristic, invariable, incurable, incorrigible, ineradicable, fixed, intrinsically, at bottom, in the main, in effect, practically, virtually, substantially, au fond, fairly, character is higher than intellect, come give us a taste of your quality, magnos homines virtute metimur non fortuna, non numero haec judicantur sed pondere, vital spark of heavenly flame.

Affections

N affections, affect, character, qualities, disposition, nature, spirit, tone, temper, temperament, diathesis, idiosyncrasy, cast of mind, cast of soul, habit of mind, habit of soul, frame of mind, frame of soul, predilection, turn, natural turn of mind, bent, bias, predisposition, proneness, proclivity, propensity, propenseness, propension, propendency, vein, humor, mood, grain, mettle, sympathy, soul, heart, breast, bosom, inner man, heart's core, heart's strings, heart's blood, heart of hearts, bottom of one's heart, penetralia mentis, secret and inmost recesses of the heart, cockles of one's heart, inmost heart, inmost soul, backbone, passion, pervading spirit, ruling passion, master passion, furore, fullness of the heart, heyday of the blood, flesh and blood, flow of soul, energy, fervor, fire, force, affected, characterized, formed, molded, cast, attempered, tempered, framed, predisposed, prone, inclined, having a bias, tinctured with, imbued with, penetrated with, eaten up with, inborn, inbred, ingrained, deep-rooted, ineffaceable, inveterate, pathoscopic, congenital, dyed in the wool, implanted by nature, inherent, in the grain, affective, in one's heart, at heart, heart and soul, affection is a coal that must be cool'd else suffe.

Life

N life, vitality, viability, animation, vital spark, vital flame, soul, spirit, respiration, wind, breath of life, breath of one's nostrils, oxygen, air, respirator, artificial respirator, heart and lung machine, iron lung, medical devices, lifeblood, Archeus, existence, vivification, vital force, vitalization, revivification, Prometheus, life to come, physiology, biology, animal ecology, nourishment, staff of life, genetics, heredity, inheritance, evolution, natural selection, reproduction (production), microbe, aerobe, anaerobe, facultative anaerobe, obligate aerobe, obligate anaerobe, halophile, methanogen, archaebacteria, microaerophile, animal, vegetable, artificial life, robot, robotics, artificial intelligence, breathing, breathing rate, heartbeat, pulse, temperature, preservation of life, healing (medicine), living, alive, in life, in the flesh, in the land of the living, on this side of the grave, above ground, breathing, quick, animated, animative, lively, all alive and kicking, tenacious of life, full of life, yeasty, vital, vitalic, vivifying, vivified viable, zoetic, Promethean, vivendi causa, atqui vivere militare est, non est vivere sed valere vita.

Mankind

N man, mankind, human race, human species, human kind, human nature, humanity, mortality, flesh, generation, anthropology, anthropogeny, anthropography, anthroposophy, ethnology, ethnography, humanitarian, human being, person, personage, individual, creature, fellow creature, mortal, body, somebody, one, such a one, some one, soul, living soul, earthling, party, head, hand, dramatis personae, quidam, people, persons, folk, public, society, world, community, community at large, general public, nation, nationality, state, realm, commonweal, commonwealth, republic, body politic, million, population, tribe, clan (paternity), family (consanguinity), cosmopolite, lords of the creation, ourselves, human, mortal, personal, individual, national, civic, public, social, cosmopolitan, anthropoid, am I not a man and a brother?.

Intellect

N intellect, mind, understanding, reason, thinking principle, rationality, cogitative faculties, cognitive faculties, discursive faculties, reasoning faculties, intellectual faculties, faculties, senses, consciousness, observation, percipience, intelligence, intellection, intuition, association of ideas, instinct, conception, judgment, wits, parts, capacity, intellectuality, genius, brains, cognitive powers, intellectual powers, wit, ability, wisdom, Vernunft, Verstand, soul, spirit, ghost, inner man, heart, breast, bosom, penetralia mentis, divina particula aurae, heart's core, the Absolute, psyche, subliminal consciousness, supreme principle, brain, organ of thought, seat of thought, sensorium, sensory, head, headpiece, pate, noddle, noggin, skull, scull, pericranium, cerebrum, cranium, brainpan, sconce, upper story, central processing unit, CPU, arithmetic and logical unit, ALU, metaphysics, psychics, psychology, ideology, mental philosophy, moral philosophy, philosophy of the mind, pneumatology, phrenology, craniology, cranioscopy, ideality, idealism, transcendentalism, spiritualism, immateriality, universal concept, universal conception, metaphysician, psychologist, intellectual, mental, rational, subjective, metaphysical, nooscopic, spiritual, ghostly, psychical, psychological, cerebral, animastic, brainy, hyperphysical, superphysical, subconscious, subliminal, immaterial, endowed with reason, in petto, ens rationis, frons est animi janua, locos y ninos dicen la verdad, mens sola loco non exulat, my mind is my kingdom, stern men with empires in their brains, the mind, the music breathing from her face, thou living ray of intellectual Fire.

Wisdom

N intelligence, wisdom, intelligence, capacity, comprehension, understanding, cuteness, sabe, savvy, intellect, nous, parts, sagacity, mother wit, wit, esprit, gumption, quick parts, grasp of intellect, acuteness, acumen, subtlety, penetration, perspicacy, perspicacity, discernment, due sense of, good judgment, discrimination, cunning, refinement, head, brains, headpiece, upper story, long head, eagle eye, eagle- glance, eye of a lynx, eye of a hawk, wisdom, sapience, sense, good sense, common sense, horse sense, plain sense, rationality, reason, reasonableness, judgment, solidity, depth, profundity, caliber, enlarged views, reach of thought, compass of thought, enlargement of mind, genius, inspiration, geist, fire of genius, heaven-born genius, soul, talent, prudence, vigilance, tact, foresight, sobriety, self-possession, aplomb, ballast, a bright thought, not a bad idea, Solomon-like wisdom, intelligent, quick of apprehension, keen, acute, alive, brainy, awake, bright, quick, sharp, quick witted, keen witted, clear witted, sharp-eyed, sharp sighted, sharp witted, wide- awake, canny, shrewd, astute, clear-headed, farsighted, discerning, perspicacious, penetrating, piercing, argute, quick-witted, nimble-witted, needle-witted, sharp as a needle, sharp as a tack, alive to, clever, arch, pas si bete, acute, wise, sage, sapient, sagacious, reasonable, rational, sound, in one's right mind, sensible, abnormis sapiens, judicious, strong- minded, unprejudiced, unbiased, unbigoted, unprepossessed, undazzled, unperplexed, unwarped judgment, impartial, equitable, fair, cool, cool-headed, long-headed, hardheaded, strong-headed, long- sighted, calculating, thoughtful, reflecting, solid, deep, profound, oracular, heaven-directed, heaven-born, prudent, sober, stand, solid, considerate, politic, wise in one's generation, watchful, provident, in advance of one' age, wise as a serpent, wise as Solomon, wise as Solon, wise, sensible, reasonable, judicious, well- thought-out, well-planned, well-judged, well-advised, prudent, politic, expedient, aut regem aut fatuum nasci oportet, but with the morning cool reflection came, flosculi sententiarum, les affaires font les hommes, mas vale saber que haber, mas vale ser necio que profiadol nemo solus sapit, nosce te, gnothi seauton, nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementiae fuit, sapere aude, victrix fortunae sapientia.