Find out what air and breathing have in common with the word inspire

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Inspiration and wonder.

What does the word inspire have to do with air? Kevin Hall created an interesting etymological work entitled Aspire!: Discovering Your Purpose Through the Power of Words. As the title and many references within the book point out, many words based on the root SPIR have their origins in the air, essence or breathing. In fact one of the words addressed is inspire and many reviewers have used that one to describe the book itself.

Perhaps you're always looking for inspiration and great ideas, to come up with innovative solutions and explore possibilities.  Collaboration might be your thing, and you're open to different perspectives, especially if you're always looking for new ways to push boundaries.

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The roots of Inspiration

It bears some semantic similarities to the Latin and Greek roots that sprouted "animation" and "psychology", but the etymology doesn't quite work: Spirit, from spiritus in Latin, means "breath" as well as "soul" or "courage".  Peis (or speis) comes from Indo-European roots and refers to rushing air, breathing.  I'll dig a little deeper.

The word "inspire" comes from the Latin word inspirare, which means "to breath into" or "to infuse." The prefix "in-" means "into," and "spirare" means "to breathe."  The term originally referred to the idea that the divine breathed inspiration into humans.  As part of the English language, it was expanded to mean being mentally stimulated or motivated.

The word was spelled inspirer in Old French, and entered the English language in the 14th century as "inspire." Over time, the spelling and pronunciation changed to "inspire."  Today, the word "inspire" refers to a feeling of motivation or creativity, as well as the act of motivating or encouraging someone.  You can also inhale air or take in a substance when you're inspired by a scent or taste.

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Here are some highlights from the long list of ways to use the word "inspire":

- Inspiration: This is the noun form of "inspire" and means to be mentally stimulated to do or feel something, or the thing that stimulates us.  An artist's painting was inspired by the beautiful scenery.

- The past tense and past participle of inspire describe something that has been motivated or influenced by inspiration.  "The speech was so inspiring that the audience felt inspired."

- This is the present participle form of "inspire" and describes something that's inspiring right now.  Students are inspired by the teacher's passion for science.

- The word inspirational describes something that inspires or motivates.  "The motivational speaker gave the audience an inspirational message."

- It's an adverb that describes something done inspiringly.  In spite of her injury, the athlete performed inspirationally.

- Motivate or encourage someone to do something: This is a common usage of the verb "inspire."  "The coach inspired the team to give it their all."

- Inspire yourself: This means to feel motivated or influenced by something.  A poem was inspired by the beauty of nature, for example.

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Ideas that inspire

The Word Inspire and related Words

In a Nutshell

The word inspire is deeply connected to air and breathing, metaphorically and culturally. 

• Inspiring originates from the Latin inspirare, which means "to breathe into." This origin emphasizes the connection between inspiration and breathing, suggesting that to be inspired is to be filled with vitality.

A breeze of inspiration.

• Inspiration is often described as a breath of fresh air in poetry. John Keats and William Wordsworth used breathing imagery to convey the sudden influx of creative energy. Wordsworth refers to the "breath of this corporeal frame" as a source of inspiration in "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey."
• Many spiritual traditions view breath as a bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds. Hindus believe pranayama (breath control) enhances spiritual awareness and connects practitioners to a higher state of consciousness. In Christianity, the Holy Spirit is often described as the breath of God, filling believers with divine presence.
• We often use phrases like "a breath of fresh air" to describe something new and invigorating in contemporary language. Like a deep breath, inspiration can rejuvenate and energize us.

In both literal and metaphorical contexts, inspiration is deeply rooted in the act of breathing.

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Do YOU Know where the word 'inspire' Came from?

Here's a short lexicon listing dozens of common words and phrases based on the root used in the word INSPIRE.

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Thank you to my research and writing assistants, ChatGPT and WordTune, as well as Wombo and others for the images.

GPT-4, OpenAI's large-scale language generation model (and others provided by Google and Meta), helped generate this text.  As soon as draft language is generated, the author reviews, edits, and revises it to their own liking and is responsible for the content.