Quote:
Originally Posted by troutman
The origin of the word "spirit" was to breathe:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/spirit
Origin:
1200–50; ME (n.) < L spīritus orig., a breathing, equiv. to spīri-, comb. form repr. spīrāre to breathe + -tus suffix of v. action 
Spir"it\, n. [OF. espirit, esperit, F. esprit, L. spiritus, from spirare to breathe, to blow. Cf. Conspire, Expire, Esprit, Sprite.] |
It is interesting, but this is true of other ancient cultures and languages as well. The ancient Babylonians and Greeks all derived the notion of "spirit" (mind you, the Babylonians were not nearly as committed to the sort of dualism that developed in Greek culture between the material and the immaterial) from the same verb used of breathing. In Greco-Roman literature, almost invariably the "spirit of God" or the "spirit of man" looks exactly the same as the "breath" (or "wind" hehe) of God or of man.