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Webster 1913 Edition

Soul

Soul

(sōl)
,
Adj.
Sole.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.

Soul

,
Verb.
I.
[F.
soûler
to satiate. See
Soil
to feed.]
To afford suitable sustenance.
[Obs.]
Warner.

Soul

,
Noun.
[OE.
soule
,
saule
, AS.
sāwel
,
sāwl
; akin to OFries.
s[GREEK]le
, OS.
s[GREEK]ola
, D.
ziel
, G.
seele
, OHG.
s[GREEK]la
,
s[GREEK]ula
, Icel.
sāla
, Sw.
själ
, Dan.
siael
, Goth.
saiwala
; of uncertain origin, perhaps akin to L.
saeculum
a lifetime, age (cf.
Secular
.)]
1.
The spiritual, rational, and immortal part in man; that part of man which enables him to think, and which renders him a subject of moral government; – sometimes, in distinction from the higher nature, or spirit, of man, the so-called animal soul, that is, the seat of life, the sensitive affections and phantasy, exclusive of the voluntary and rational powers; – sometimes, in distinction from the mind, the moral and emotional part of man’s nature, the seat of feeling, in distinction from intellect; – sometimes, the intellect only; the understanding; the seat of knowledge, as distinguished from feeling. In a more general sense, “an animating, separable, surviving entity, the vehicle of individual personal existence.”
Tylor.
The eyes of our
souls
only then begin to see, when our bodily eyes are closing.
Law.
2.
The seat of real life or vitality; the source of action; the animating or essential part.
“The hidden soul of harmony.”
Milton.
Thou sun, of this great world both eye and
soul
.
Milton.
3.
The leader; the inspirer; the moving spirit; the heart;
as, the
soul
of an enterprise; an able general is the
soul
of his army
.
He is the very
soul
of bounty!
Shakespeare
4.
Energy; courage; spirit; fervor; affection, or any other noble manifestation of the heart or moral nature; inherent power or goodness.
That he wants algebra he must confess;
But not a
soul
to give our arms success.
Young.
5.
A human being; a person; – a familiar appellation, usually with a qualifying epithet;
as, poor
soul
.
As cold waters to a thirsty
soul
, so is good news from a far country.
Prov. xxv. 25.
God forbid so many simple
souls

Should perish by the sword!
Shakespeare
Now mistress Gilpin (careful
soul
).
Cowper.
6.
A pure or disembodied spirit.
That to his only Son . . . every
soul
in heaven
Shall bend the knee.
Milton.
☞ Soul is used in the formation of numerous compounds, most of which are of obvious signification; as, soul-betraying, soul-consuming, soul-destroying, soul-distracting, soul-enfeebling, soul-exalting, soul-felt, soul-harrowing, soul-piercing, soul-quickening, soul-reviving, soul-stirring, soul-subduing, soul-withering, etc.
Syn. – Spirit; life; courage; fire; ardor.
Cure of souls
.
See
Cure
,
Noun.
, 2.
–
Soul bell
,
the passing bell.
Bp. Hall.
–
Soul foot
.
See
Soul scot
, below.
[Obs.]
–
Soul scot
or
Soul shot
.
[
Soul
+
scot
, or
shot
; cf. AS.
sāwelsceat
.]
(O. Eccl. Law)
A funeral duty paid in former times for a requiem for the soul.
Ayliffe.

Soul

(sōl)
,
Verb.
T.
To indue with a soul; to furnish with a soul or mind.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.

Webster 1828 Edition

Soul

SOUL

, n.
1.
The spiritual, rational and immortal substance in man, which distinguishes him from brutes; that part of man which enables him to think and reason, and which renders him a subject of moral government. The immortality of the soul is a fundamental article of the christian system. Such is the nature of the human soul that it must have a God, an object of supreme affection.
2.
The understanding; the intellectual principle. The eyes of our soul then only begin to see, when our bodily eye are closing.
3.
Vital principle. Thou son, of this great world both eye and soul.
4.
Spirit; essence; chief part; as charity, the soul of all the virtues. Emotion is the soul of eloquence.
5.
Life; animation principle or part; as, an able commander is the soul of an army.
6.
Internal power. There is some soul of goodness in things evil.
7.
A human being; a person. There was no a soul present. In Paris there are more than seven hundred thousand souls. London, Westminster, Southwark and the suburbs, are said to contain twelve hundred thousand souls.
8.
Animal life. To deliver their soil from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Ps. 33. 7.
9.
Active power. And heaven would fly before the driving soul.
10.
Spirit; courage; fire; grandeur of mind. That he wants caution he must needs confess, but not a soul to give our arms success.
11.
Generosity; nobleness of mind; a colloquial use.
12.
An intelligent being. Every soul in heav'n shall bend the knee.
13.
Heart; affection. The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David. I Sam. 18.
14.
In Scripture, appetite; as the full soul; the hungry soul. Prov. 27. Job 33.
15.
A familiar compellation of a person, but often expressing some qualities of the mind; as alas, poor soul; he was a good soul.

Definition 2024

Soul

Soul

See also: soul, Söul, Sŏul, and soûl

Czech

Proper noun

Soul m

  1. Seoul

Finnish

Proper noun

Soul

  1. Seoul

Declension

Inflection of Soul (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative Soul —
genitive Soulin —
partitive Soulia —
illative Souliin —
singular plural
nominative Soul —
accusative nom. Soul —
gen. Soulin
genitive Soulin —
partitive Soulia —
inessive Soulissa —
elative Soulista —
illative Souliin —
adessive Soulilla —
ablative Soulilta —
allative Soulille —
essive Soulina —
translative Souliksi —
instructive — —
abessive Soulitta —
comitative — —

Anagrams

German

Noun

Soul m, n ‎(genitive Souls or Soul, no plural)

  1. (music) Soul music, soul

soul

soul

See also: Soul, soûl, Söul, and Sŏul

English

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

soul ‎(plural souls)

  1. (religion, folklore) The spirit or essence of a person usually thought to consist of one's thoughts and personality. Often believed to live on after the person's death.
    • 1836, Hans Christian Andersen (translated into English by Mrs. H. B. Paull in 1872), The Little Mermaid
      "Among the daughters of the air," answered one of them. "A mermaid has not an immortal soul, nor can she obtain one unless she wins the love of a human being. On the power of another hangs her eternal destiny. But the daughters of the air, although they do not possess an immortal soul, can, by their good deeds, procure one for themselves.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 4, in The Celebrity:
      No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or […] . And at last I began to realize in my harassed soul that all elusion was futile, and to take such holidays as I could get, when he was off with a girl, in a spirit of thankfulness.
  2. The spirit or essence of anything.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 22, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      From another point of view, it was a place without a soul. The well-to-do had hearts of stone; the rich were brutally bumptious; the Press, the Municipality, all the public men, were ridiculously, vaingloriously self-satisfied.
  3. Life, energy, vigor.
    • Young
      That he wants algebra he must confess; / But not a soul to give our arms success.
  4. (music) Soul music.
  5. A person, especially as one among many.
    • D. H. Lawrence
      I want to gather together about twenty souls and sail away from this world of war and squalor and found a little colony where there shall be no money but a sort of communism as far as necessaries of life go, and some real decency.
  6. An individual life.
    Fifty souls were lost when the ship sank.
  • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:soul.
Derived terms

Look at pages starting with soul.

Related terms
Translations

Verb

soul ‎(third-person singular simple present souls, present participle souling, simple past and past participle souled)

  1. (obsolete, transitive) To endue with a soul; to furnish with a soul or mind.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Chaucer to this entry?)

Etymology 2

Borrowing from French souler ‎(“to satiate”).

Verb

soul ‎(third-person singular simple present souls, present participle souling, simple past and past participle souled)

  1. (obsolete) To afford suitable sustenance.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Warner to this entry?)

Finnish

Etymology

Borrowing from English soul.

Noun

soul

  1. soul music

Declension

Inflection of soul (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative soul —
genitive soulin —
partitive soulia —
illative souliin —
singular plural
nominative soul —
accusative nom. soul —
gen. soulin
genitive soulin —
partitive soulia —
inessive soulissa —
elative soulista —
illative souliin —
adessive soulilla —
ablative soulilta —
allative soulille —
essive soulina —
translative souliksi —
instructive — —
abessive soulitta —
comitative — —

Anagrams

French

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

From Latin satullus, diminutive of satur.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /su/
  • Homophones: sou, sous

Adjective

soul m ‎(feminine singular soule, masculine plural souls, feminine plural soules)

  1. drunk
Derived terms
Synonyms

Etymology 2

Borrowing from English soul.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /sol/

Noun

soul f ‎(uncountable)

  1. soul, soul music

Hungarian

Etymology

Borrowing from English soul.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈsoːl]
  • Hyphenation: soul

Noun

soul ‎(plural soulok)

  1. (music) soul music

Declension

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
singular plural
nominative soul soulok
accusative soult soulokat
dative soulnak souloknak
instrumental soullal soulokkal
causal-final soulért soulokért
translative soullá soulokká
terminative soulig soulokig
essive-formal soulként soulokként
essive-modal — —
inessive soulban soulokban
superessive soulon soulokon
adessive soulnál souloknál
illative soulba soulokba
sublative soulra soulokra
allative soulhoz soulokhoz
elative soulból soulokból
delative soulról soulokról
ablative soultól souloktól
Possessive forms of soul
possessor single possession multiple possessions
1st person sing. soulom souljaim
2nd person sing. soulod souljaid
3rd person sing. soulja souljai
1st person plural soulunk souljaink
2nd person plural soulotok souljaitok
3rd person plural souljuk souljaik

Derived terms

  • soulzene

Italian

Etymology

Borrowing from English soul.

Noun

soul m, f ‎(invariable)

  1. soul music

Old French

Adjective

soul m ‎(oblique and nominative feminine singular soule)

  1. Alternative form of sol

Declension

Polish

Etymology

Borrowing from English soul.

Noun

soul m inan

  1. soul, soul music.

Declension

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowing from English soul.

Noun

soul m (uncountable)

  1. soul music (a music genre combining gospel music, rhythm and blues and often jazz)

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowing from English soul.

Noun

soul m ‎(uncountable)

  1. soul, soul music

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old English sāwol ‎(“soul, life, spirit, being”), from Proto-Germanic *saiwalō ‎(“soul”). Cognate with North Frisian siel, sial ‎(“soul”), Dutch ziel ‎(“soul”), German Seele ‎(“soul”) Scandinavian homonyms seem to have been borrowed from Old Saxon *siala. Modern Danish: sjæl, Swedish: själ, Norwegian: sjel. Icelandic sál may have come from Old English sāwol.

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