See Also: Soul(medicine)
soul(dictionary)
soul(1)(dictionary)
soul(2)(dictionary)
soul(encyclopedia)
soul-searching(dictionary)
soul-destroying(dictionary)
soul music(dictionary)
soul mate(dictionary)
soul food(dictionary)

soul(1) (iou)



soul noun.
[Old English sawol, saw(e)l = Gothic saiwala corresp. to Old Frisian sele, Old Saxon seola (Dutch ziel), Old High German se(u)la (German Seele) from Germanic, corresp. formally to Greek aiolos quick-moving, easily moved.]
I. The principle of life in humans or animals; animate existence. OE-L17.
The principle of thought and action in a person, regarded as an entity distinct from the body; a person's spiritual as opp. to corporeal nature. Also (rare), an analogous principle in animals. OE.
P. Kavanagh Weary in body and mind, but in soul perhaps as fresh as rain-green grass. R. A. Knox Soul and body can exist without one another.
a. The spiritual part of a human being considered in its moral aspect or in relation to God and his precepts, spec. regarded as immortal and as being capable of redemption or damnation in a future state. OE.
A. C. Benson He [Newman] had little of the priestly hunger to save souls. New Age Journal Spiritual pessimism is the ultimate statement of fear, because our very soul is in danger.
b. The disembodied spirit of a dead person, regarded as invested with some degree of personality and form. OE.
R. Macaulay Prayed that all the souls in those cemeteries might rest in peace.
a. The seat of the emotions or sentiments; the emotional part of human nature. OE.
D. H. Lawrence One doesn't really want them, in one's soulonly superficially.
b. Intellectual or spiritual power; high development of the mental faculties. Also, deep feeling, sensitivity, esp. as an aesthetic quality; zest, spirit. E17.
S. Richardson I never saw so much soul in a lady's eyes, as in hers. City Limits One wishes for..more of the soul shown in 'Raging Bull'.
Philosophy. The vital, sensitive, or rational principle in plants, animals, or human beings. arch. ME.
a. A person, an individual. Usu. in pl. or in neg. contexts. ME.
Dylan Thomas Less than five hundred souls inhabit the three..streets. R. Dahl A countryside of green fields..with not a soul in sight.
b. Hist. In tsarist Russia, a serf. E19.
a. A person regarded with familiarity, affection, pity, etc. Freq. with defining adjective. E16.
Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream My love, my life, my soul, fair Helena! L. Egan Poor soul, this awful cancer. She..died inside of three months.
b. A person regarded as the personification of a certain quality; a person regarded as embodying certain moral, spiritual, or intellectual qualities. E17.
R. Lehmann He's the soul of courtesy but he can be..difficult. Which? Thanks..to the 24,269 stalwart souls.
c. A person regarded as the inspirer or leader of some activity, cause, etc.; the chief agent, the prime mover, the animating spirit. M17.
Ld Macaulay He was the..soul of the European coalition.
a. The essential or animating element or quality of something. L16.
b. An element or trace of something. rare. L16.
a. The emotional or spiritual quality of black American life and culture, manifested esp. in music. M20.
Sound Choice The guy's got soul..wrenches sounds out of his guitar that'll..have your dog convulsing.
b. ellipt. = soul music below. M20.
Thames Valley Now Loud..music from soul to blues to house. attrib.: A. Ali A fanatical collector of soul records.
II. techn.
The lungs of a goose, forming a spongy lining to the ribcage esp. when cooked. Now dial. L15.
The bore of a cannon. L16-M17.
The sound-post of a violin. M19.
Phrases: All Souls' Day: see ALL adjective 2. bless my soul: see BLESS verb1. call one's soul one's own be free from interference with one's privacy or independence (usu. in neg. contexts). dark night of the soul: see DARK adjective. flow of soul: see FLOW noun1. for the soul of me even if my soul depended on it (I could not etc.). God bless my soul: see BLESS verb1. have a soul above arch. be superior to or have higher aspirations than. have no soul be lacking in sensitivity, spirit, or appreciation for something. heart and soul: see HEART noun. holy souls: see HOLY adjective. keep body and soul together: see BODY noun. Lord bless my soul: see BLESS verb1. make one's soul: see MAKE verb. sell one's soul to the Devil: see SELL verb. soul and body lashing Nautical rope yarn tied round open parts of oilskin clothing to keep out water and wind. soul and conscience Scots Law the formula by which medical testimony in writing is authenticated. the iron entered into his soul: see IRON noun. the soul of discretion, the soul of honour, etc., a person of extreme discretion, honour, etc. the soul of the world arch. [after Latin anima mundi, Greek psukh tou kosmou] the animating principle of the world, according to early philosophers. The Souls a late 19th-cent. aristocratic circle with predominantly cultural and intellectual interests. twin soul: see TWIN adjective & noun. upon my soul! arch.: expr. of asseveration. with all one's soul deeply, sincerely.
Comb.: soul bell = passing-bell s.v. PASSING noun; soul-body Spiritualism a spiritual body; soul brother (a) a spiritual brother; (b) (orig. US Black slang) a fellow black man; soul-cake (now Hist. or dial.) a specially prepared cake or bun distributed esp. to parties of children in various northern or north-midland counties of England on All Souls' Day; soul-candle [translating Yiddish neshome licht 'soul light'] Judaism a candle lit on the eve of the anniversary of a parent's death, and also on the eve of Yom Kippur; soul-case slang (obsolete exc. US & Austral.) the body; now esp. in work the soul-case off, worry the soul-case off, work the soul-case out of, worry the soul-case out of, put under severe stress; soul-catcher among various N. American Indian peoples, a hollowed bone tube used by a medicine man to contain the soul of a sick person; Soul City the Harlem area of New York City; soul-destroying (of an activity etc.) deadeningly monotonous; soul-doctor slang (a) (now rare) a clergyman; (b) a psychiatrist; soul-driver (a) a clergyman; (b) US a person trading the services of convicts, indentured servants, or slaves; soul food (a) fig. spiritual nourishment; (b) (orig. US Black slang) food traditionally eaten by American black people, spec. foodstuffs originating in the States of the southern US; soul-force = SATYAGRAHA; soul-friend a confessor; a person giving spiritual guidance; soul-house a model or representation of a house placed by the ancient Egyptians in a tomb to receive the soul of a dead person; soul kiss = deep kiss s.v. DEEP adjective; soul-mass (now Hist. or dial.) (a) (orig. Scot. & north.) a mass for the soul of a dead person; (b) Soul-mass Day, All Souls' Day; soul mate a person ideally suited to another; soul music: popularized by black American singers and musicians and incorporating elements of rhythm and blues and gospel music; soul-scot Hist. a due paid on behalf of a deceased person to the church of the parish to which he or she belonged; a mortuary; soul-search verb & noun [back-form.] (a) verb intrans. engage in examination of one's thoughts or conscience, reflect deeply (chiefly as soul-searching verbal noun); (b) noun an act of soul-searching; soul-searching adjective that examines a person's thoughts and emotions deeply; penetrating the conscience; soul-searchingly adverb in a soul-searching manner; soul-shot Hist. = soul-scot above; soul-sick adjective (a) suffering from spiritual unease or distress; dejected, depressed; (b) characterized by dejection of spirit; soul-sickening adjective extremely depressing; soul-sickness spiritual distress; depression; soul sister (orig. US Black slang) a fellow black woman; soul stuff, soul-substance a hypothetical immaterial substance believed in some cultures to form the spirit of each person (also occas. of animals and objects) and to be independent of the physical body, continuing to exist after death.
soulhood,
soulship nouns the condition or state of being a soul; soulful quality: L19.
soul-like adjective & adverb (a) adjective resembling (that of) a soul; (b) in a manner suggestive of a soul: M17.
soulster noun (colloq.) a singer of soul music L20.
souly adjective (a) of or pertaining to the soul; (b) rare = SOULFUL adjective 1: LME.