preexistentism

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noun

The theory that souls exist prior to their association with human bodies.

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Meanings

nounpreexistentism (uncountable)
  1. uncountablehuman sciencesThe theory that souls exist prior to their association with human bodies.

    The soul either exists before its union with the body (preexistentism), or it is created by God at the same time with the body (creationism or coexistentism), or it springs up from physical generation (traducianism, evolution system). These are the principal hypotheses on the origin of the soul[.]

    1840, G. F. Wiggers, “Augustine’s reasons for his theory”, in An Historical Presentation of Augustinism and Pelagianism from the Original Sources, Andover: Gould, Newman & Saxton, page 280

Origin

From preexistent + -ism.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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