# animism

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈænɪmɪzəm/ · frequency rank #80,188

## Definitions
1. A belief that spirits inhabit some or all classes of natural objects or phenomena.
2. A belief that an immaterial force animates the universe.
3. A doctrine that animal life is produced by an immaterial spirit.

## Etymology
From anima + -ism, from Latin anima (“life", "breath", "soul”). Dated sense from German Animismus, coined c. 1720 by physicist/chemist Georg Ernst Stahl (1660-1734) See anima mundi.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/animism