perispirit

P3E1R1I1S1P3I1R1I1T1

noun

A layer of an abstract, ethereal material that is said by spiritualists to serve as the bond between one's spirit and physical body.

OriginEnglish spirit ← Middle English spirit ← Old French espirit →
Scrabble 14
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Meanings

nounperispirit (countable and uncountable, plural perispirits)

plural perispirits · alternative perisprit

  1. countableuncountableA layer of an abstract, ethereal material that is said by spiritualists to serve as the bond between one's spirit and physical body.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  2. Ancient Greekπερῐ́ (perĭ́)
  3. Englishperi-
  4. Proto-Indo-European*(s)peys-der.?
  5. Latinspīrō
  6. Latinspīritu
  7. Old Frenchespirit
  8. Middle Englishspirit
  9. Englishspirit
  10. Englishperispirit

From peri- + spirit. In Allan Kardec's 1857 book The Spirits Book (Le Livre des Esprits in original French), the term is defined with a direct analogy to perisperm (“layer of nutritive tissue that surrounds the embryo of a seed in some angiosperms”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French périsprit
  • périspritbond between spirit and body
Portuguese perispírito
  • perispíritobond between spirit and body
Cite this entry
APA

perispirit. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/perispirit

MLA

“perispirit.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/perispirit. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “perispirit,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/perispirit.

Source: perispirit on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.