pneuma

P3N1E1U1M3A1
/ˈnjuːmə/

noun

A neume.

OriginAncient Greek πνεῦμα →
UncommonScrabble 10
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Meanings

nounpneuma (plural pneumas or pneumata)

plural pneumas · plural pneumata

  1. entertainmentA neume.

    With swaying arms they wail in pneuma over the recreant Bloom.

    1922, James Joyce, Ulysses
  2. The spirit or soul.

    But bound to reach out and beyond this flesh. / Become Pneuma

    2019, Maynard Keenan James, “Pneuma”, in Fear Inoculum, performed by Tool
  3. GnosticismOne of three levels of a human being, the spirit, along with the body and soul.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekπνεῦμα“wind, breath, spirit”
  2. Englishpneuma

From Ancient Greek πνεῦμα (pneûma, “wind, breath, spirit”), from πνέω (pnéō, “I blow, breathe”). Doublet of neume.

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Spanish pneuma, pneuma
  • pneumaneume
  • pneumaspirit or soul

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with pneuma

pumaMontezumasatsumaakumastruma
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

pneuma. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pneuma

MLA

“pneuma.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pneuma. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pneuma,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pneuma.

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