Etymology

inspiration

I1N1S1P3I1R1A1T1I1O1N1

Today it means: The drawing of air into the lungs, accomplished in mammals by elevation of the chest walls and flattening of the diaphragm, as part of the act of breathing. Full definition →

Middle English inspiracioun ← Old French inspiration ← Late Latin īnspīrātiōnem
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Latin · derived fromīnspīrātus
  2. Late Latin · derived fromīnspīrātiōnem
  3. Old French · derived frominspiration
  4. Middle English · inherited frominspiracioun
  5. English todayinspiration

From Middle English inspiracioun, from Old French inspiration, from Late Latin īnspīrātiōnem (nominative: īnspīrātiō), from Latin īnspīrātus (past participle of inspīrō). By surface analysis, inspire + -ation. Displaced native Old English onbryrdnes (literally “in-pricked-ness”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.