Etymology

animate

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Today it means: That lives. Full definition →

Middle English animat(e) ← Latin animātus ← Proto-Italic *anamos
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂enh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂enh₁mos
  3. Proto-Italic*anamos
  4. Latinanimus
  5. Latinanima
  6. Latinanimō
  7. Latinanimātus
  8. Middle Englishanimat(e)
  9. English todayanimate

Inherited from Middle English animat(e), from Latin animātus, perfect passive participle of animō (“to fill with breath, quicken, encourage, animate”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from anima (“soul, spirit, breath”); see anima. The verb derives from the adjective, see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.