LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

animus

animus m (genitive animī)
Classical[ˈa.nɪ.mʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈaː.ni.mus]
№ 40 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. masculinelife, life force, soul, vitality (that life-giving aspect which animates a thing)
    Tibi bene ex animō volō.I wish you well from my soul.
    bono animo esseto be sure, to be confident
  2. masculineconscience, intellect, mind, reason, sensibility, understanding (the intellectual dimension of the human mind in general; the seat of the rational and other thoughts a person experiences)
    animum adicioI address my mind to
    ...nihil enim est tam angusti animi tamque parvi quam amare divitias, nihil honestius magnificentiusque quam pecuniam contemnere......there is nothing so characteristic of a narrow conscience as the love of riches, and there is nothing more honorable and noble than to be indifferent to money...44 BCE, Cicero, De officiis 1.68
  3. masculineheart, mind, spirit (the affective dimension of the human mind in general; the seat of the emotions and feelings a person experiences)
    Beātī pauperēs animō: nam eōrum est cœleste rēgnum."Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the heavenly kingdom."Castellio, Matthæus 5.3
  4. masculineaffect, emotion, feeling, impulse, passion (the essence of that which is situated within the affective mind)
    movere animum alicuiusto affect or impress someone’s mind (for example, enrage him)
    ...teneo quid animi vostri super hac re siet: faciam ut commixta sit: sit tragicomoedia....upon this subject I understand what your feelings are; I'll make this to be a mixture...a tragi-comedy.c. 190 BCE – 185 BCE, Plautus, Amphitruo 58
  5. masculinecertain particular emotional aspects of one's affective makeup: affection; aggression; courage; pride; will (“firmity or fixity of purpose”), determination, firmness, resoluteness, resolve; wrath, anger, ire
    Animum vincere, iracundiam cohibere, victo temperare, adversarium nobilitate, ingenio, virtute praestantem non modo extollere iacentem sed etiam amplificare eius pristinam dignitatem, haec qui faciat, non ego eum cum summis viris comparo, sed simillimum deo iudico.To subdue one's aggression, to repress one's irascibility, to show restraint to a subdued adversary, ennobling him, recognising his skill and manly character, even to increase his previous dignity, these are actions of such a nature, that the man who does them, I do not compare to the most mature of men, but I consider equal to a god.46 BCE, Cicero, Pro Marcello 8.6–10
    Iam insolentiam noratis hominis, noratis animos eius ac spiritus tribunicios.Already you know the insolence of the man. You know what a tribune-like pride and arrogance he has.66 BCE, Cicero, Pro Cluentio 109.1–2
  6. masculinemotive, motivation, reason (any intellectually or emotionally based incentive to act in a particular manner)
  7. masculineaim, aspiration, design, idea, intent, intention, plan, purpose, resolution (that which exists in the mind as a formulation, and causes a subject to act or to behave in a particular manner)
    late 2nd century BCE, Lucius Accius (fragment)...who, by design, will certainly have been of use to the republic...
    Hostes re nova perterriti muro turribusque deiecti in foro ac locis patentioribus cuneatim constiterunt, hoc animo ut si qua ex parte obviam contra veniretur acie instructa depugnarent.The enemy, when dislodged from the wall and towers, were terrified by the surprise of the attack and drew up in a wedge formation with this purpose in mind: that if an advance against them came from any side they might deploy into a line to fight to the finish.c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico 7.28
  8. masculinemetonymicallydisposition, inclination, nature, temperament (the inherent emotional disposition of a human being, by extension of the affective dimension)
    ...scio enim promptum animum vestrum pro quo de vobis glorior apud Macedonas quoniam Achaia parata est ab anno praeterito et vestra aemulatio provocavit plurimos...for I know your disposition of readiness, of which I boast on your behalf to them of Macedonia, that Achaia has been prepared for a year past. Your zeal has stirred up very many of them.c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate 2 Corinthians 9:2
  9. masculineaffect, mood, temper (the instant mental state of a human being)
  10. colloquialmasculinemetonymicallybeloved. dearest, heart, soul (as a term of endearment)
  11. in pluralmasculinebravado, elation, high spirits
    adicere/facere animos alicuito boost someone's spirits

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quod in homine sentit, vult, putat; corpore nōn vidētur.
animus -ī m — in Mille Verba, Animus et Adfectūs
the mind, the soul
animus — in Seneca, ch. III

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Anima · Animus · Mens

1. Anima denotes ‘the soul,’ physiologically, as the principle of animal life, in men and brutes, that ceases with the breath, like ψυχή: animus (ἄνεμος), psychologically and ethically, as the principle of moral personality, that ceases with the will, like θυμός. The souls of the departed also are called, in a mythological point of view, animæ, as shades; but, in a metaphysical point of view, animi, as spirits. Anima is a part of bodily existence; animus, in direct opposition to the body. Sen. Ep. 4. Difficile est animum perducere ad contemtionem animæ: and 58. Juven. xv. 148. Principio indulsit communis conditor illis tantum animas, nobis animum quoque. 2. Animus denotes also the human soul, as including all its faculties, and is distinguished from mens (μένος, μανθάνω, the thinking faculty, as a whole from one of its parts. Cic. Rep. ii. 40. Ea quæ latet in animis hominum, quæque pars animi mens vocatur. Lucr. iii. 615. iv. 758. Catull. 65, 3. Plaut. Cist. iii. 1, 6. As in practical life the energy of the soul is displayed in the faculty of volition, so animus itself stands for a part of the soul, namely, feeling and energy of will in co-ordinate relation to mens, the intellect or understanding. Tac. II. i. 84. Quem nobis animum, quas mentes imprecentur. Ter. Andr. i. 1. 137. Mala mens, malus animus. And, lastly, so far as thought precedes the will, and the will itself, or determination, stands as mediator between thought and action, in the same way as the body is the servant of the will, so mens is related to animus, as a whole to its part. Cic. Tusc. iii. 5. Mens, cui regnum totius animi a natura tributum est. Liv. xxxvii. 45. (v. 94.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeanimus
animulus		animī
animulī
genitiveanimī
animulī		animōrum
animulōrum
dativeanimō
animulō		animīs
animulīs
accusativeanimum
animulum		animōs
animulōs
ablativeanimō
animulō		animīs
animulīs
vocativeanime
animule		animī
animulī
locativeanimī—

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

animi cadunt
their courage is ebbing.
animo adesse
(1) to be attentive; (2) to keep one's presence of mind.
animos tenere
to rivet the attention of...
animum explere
to cool one's anger.
bono animo esse
to be brave, courageous.
animum demittere
to lose courage; to despair.
animo forti esse
to be brave by nature.
magno animo esse
to be magnanimous, broad-minded.
52 more phrases
perturbari (animo)
to lose one's composure; to be disconcerted.
bonum animum habere
to be brave, courageous.
quid tibi animi est?
what sort of humour are you in?
spem concipere animo
to conceive a hope.
animum vitiis dedere
to abandon oneself to vice.
animo praesagio malum
my mind forebodes misfortune.
animus praesāgit malum
my mind forebodes misfortune.
animo cadere, deficere
to lose courage; to despair.
amorem ex animo eicere
to banish love from one's mind.
errorem animo imbibere
to get a mistaken notion into the mind.
ita animo affectum esse
to be so disposed.
alicuius animum pellere
to make an impression on a person's mind.
(animo) angi (Brut. 27)
to be very uneasy; to fret.
animo concipere aliquid
to form an idea of a thing, imagine, conceive.
nisi (animus) me fallit
if I am not mistaken.
animus relinquit aliquem
a man loses his senses, becomes unconscious.
animos militum accendere
to fire with courage.
animum capere, colligere
to take courage.
alicuius animum commovere
to touch a person's heart, move him.
ardorem animi restinguere
to damp, chill enthusiasm.
animus male sibi conscius
a guilty conscience.
animum alicuius confirmare
to strengthen, confirm a person's courage.

ănĭmus, i, m. a Graeco-Italic form of ἄνεμος = wind (as ego, lego, of ἐγώ, λέγω); cf. Sanscr. an = to breathe, anas = breath, anilas = wind; Goth. uz-ana = exspiro; Erse, anal = breath; Germ. Unst = a storm (so, sometimes); but Curt. does not extend the connection to ΑΩ, ἄημι = to blow; a modification of animus—by making which the Romans took a step in advance of the Greeks, who used ἡ ψυχή for both these ideas—is anima, which has the physical meaning of ἄνεμος, so that Cic. was theoretically right, but historically wrong, when he said, ipse animus ab animā dictus est, Tusc. 1, 9, 19; after the same analogy we have from ψύχω = to breathe, blow, ψυχή = breath, life, soul; from πνέω = to breathe, πνεῦμα = air, breath, life, in class. Greek, and = spirit, a spiritual being, in Hellenistic Greek; from spiro = to breathe, blow, spiritus = breath, breeze, energy, high spirit, and poet. and post-Aug. = soul, mind; the Engl. ghost = Germ. Geist may be comp. with Germ. giessen and χέω, to pour, and for this interchange of the ideas of gases and liquids, cf. Sol. 22: insula adspiratur freto Gallico, is flowed upon, washed, by the Gallic Strait; the Sanscr. ātman = breath, soul, with which comp. ἀϋτμή = breath; Germ. Odem = breath, and Athem = breath, soul, with which group Curt. connects αὔω, ἄημι; the Heb. = breath, life, soul; and = breath, wind, life, spirit, soul or mind.
I. In a general sense, the rational soul in man (in opp. to the body, corpus, and to the physical life, anima), ἡ ψυχή: humanus animus decerptus ex mente divinā, Cic. Tusc. 5, 13, 38: Corpus animum praegravat, Atque affixit humo divinae particulam aurae, Hor. S. 2, 2, 77: credo deos immortales sparsisse animos in corpora humana, ut essent qui terras tuerentur etc., Cic. Sen. 21, 77: eas res tueor animi non corporis viribus, id. ib. 11, 38; so id. Off. 1, 23, 79: quae (res) vel infirmis corporibus animo tamen administratur, id. Sen. 6, 15; id. Off. 1, 29, 102: omnes animi cruciatus et corporis, id. Cat. 4, 5, 10: levantes Corpus et animum, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 141: formam et figuram animi magis quam corporis complecti, Tac. Agr. 46; id. H. 1, 22: animi validus et corpore ingens, id. A. 15, 53: Aristides primus animum pinxit et sensus hominis expressit, quae vocantur Graece ethe, item perturbationes, first painted the soul, put a soul into his figures, Plin. 35, 10, 36, § 98 (cf.: animosa signa, life-like statues, Prop. 4, 8, 9): si nihil esset in eo (animo), nisi id, ut per eum viveremus, i. e. were it mere anima, Cic. Tusc. 1, 24, 56: Singularis est quaedam natura atque vis animi, sejuncta ab his usitatis notisque naturis, i. e. the four material elements, id. ib. 1, 27, 66: Neque nos corpora sumus. Cum igitur nosce te dicit, hoc dicit, nosce animum tuum, id. ib. 1, 22, 52: In quo igitur loco est (animus)? Credo equidem in capite, id. ib. 1, 29, 70: corpora nostra, terreno principiorum genere confecta, ardore animi concalescunt, derive their heat from the fiery nature of the soul, id. ib. 1, 18, 42: Non valet tantum animus, ut se ipsum ipse videat: at, ut oculus, sic animus, se non videns alia cernit, id. ib. 1, 27, 67: foramina illa (the senses), quae patent ad animum a corpore, callidissimo artificio natura fabricata est, id. ib. 1, 20, 47: dum peregre est animus sine corpore velox, independently of the body, i. e. the mind roaming in thought, Hor. Ep. 1, 12, 13: discessus animi a corpore, Cic. Tusc. 1, 9, 18; 1, 30, 72: cum nihil erit praeter animum, when there shall be nothing but the soul, when the soul shall be disembodied, id. ib. 1, 20, 47; so, animus vacans corpore, id. ib. 1, 22, 50; and: animus sine corpore, id. ib. 1, 22, 51: sine mente animoque nequit residere per artus pars ulla animaï, Lucr. 3, 398 (for the pleonasm here, v. infra, II. A. 1.): Reliquorum sententiae spem adferunt posse animos, cum e corporibus excesserint in caelum pervenire, Cic. Tusc. 1, 11, 24: permanere animos arbitramur consensu nationum omnium, id. ib. 1, 16, 36: Pherecydes primus dixit animos esse hominum sempiternos, id. ib. 1, 16, 38: Quod ni ita se haberet, ut animi immortales essent, haud etc., id. Sen. 23, 82: immortalitas animorum, id. ib. 21, 78; id. Tusc. 1, 11, 24; 1, 14, 30: aeternitas animorum, id. ib. 1, 17, 39; 1, 22, 50 (for the plur. animorum, in this phrase, cf. Cic. Sen. 23, 84); for the atheistic notions about the soul, v. Lucr. bk. iii.—
II. In a more restricted sense, the mind as thinking, feeling, willing, the intellect, the sensibility, and the will, acc. to the almost universally received division of the mental powers since the time of Kant (Diog. Laert. 8, 30, says that Pythagoras divided ἡ ψυχή into ὁ νοῦς, αἱ φρένες, and ὁ θυμός; and that man had ὁ νοῦς and ὁ θυμός in common with other animals, but he alone had αἱ φρένες. Here ὁ νοῦς and ὁ θυμός must denote the understanding and the sensibility, and αἱ φρένες, the reason. Plutarch de Placit. 4, 21, says that the Stoics called the supreme faculty of the mind (τὸ ἡγεμονικὸν τῆς ψυχῆς) ὁ λογισμός, reason. Cic. sometimes speaks of a twofold division; as, Est animus in partes tributus duas, quarum altera rationis est particeps, altera expers (i. e. τὸ λογιστικόν and τὸ ἄλογον of Plato; cf. Tert. Anim. 16), i. e. the reason or intellect and the sensibility, Tusc. 2, 21, 47; so id. Off. 1, 28, 101; 1, 36, 132; id. Tusc 4, 5, 10; and again of a threefold; as, Plato triplicem finxit animum, cujus principatum, id est rationem in capite sicut in arce posuit, et duas partes (the two other parts) ei parere voluit, iram et cupiditatem, quas locis disclusit; iram in pectore, cupiditatem subter praecordia locavit, i. e. the reason or intellect, and the sensibility here resolved into desire and aversion, id. ib. 1, 10, 20; so id. Ac. 2, 39, 124. The will, ἡ βούλησις, voluntas, arbitrium, seems to have been sometimes merged in the sensibility, ὁ θυμός, animus, animi, sensus, and sometimes identified with the intellect or reason, ὁ νοῦς, ὁ λογισμός, mens, ratio).
A. 1.. The general power of perception and thought, the reason, intellect, mind (syn.: mens, ratio, ingenium), ὁ νοῦς: cogito cum meo animo, Plaut. Most. 3, 2, 13; so Ter. Ad. 3, 4, 55: cum animis vestris cogitare, Cic. Agr. 2, 24: recordari cum animo, id. Clu. 25, 70; and without cum: animo meditari, Nep. Ages. 4, 1; cf. id. Ham. 4, 2: cogitare volvereque animo, Suet. Vesp. 5: animo cogitare, Vulg. Eccli. 37, 9: statuere apud animum, Liv. 34, 2: proposui in animo meo, Vulg. Eccli. 1, 12: nisi me animus fallit, hi sunt, etc., Plaut. Men. 5, 9, 23: in dubio est animus, Ter. And. 1, 5, 31; id. ib. prol. 1; cf. id. ib. 1, 1, 29: animum ad se ipsum advocamus, Cic. Tusc. 1, 31, 75: lumen animi, ingenii consiliique tui, id. Rep. 6, 12 al.— For the sake of rhet. fulness, animus often has a synonym joined with it: Mens et animus et consilium et sententia civitatis posita est in legibus, Cic. Clu. 146: magnam cui mentem animumque Delius inspirat vates, Verg. A. 6, 11: complecti animo et cogitatione, Cic. Off. 1, 32, 117; id. de Or. 1, 2, 6: animis et cogitatione comprehendere, id. Fl. 27, 66: cum omnia ratione animoque lustraris, id. Off. 1, 17, 56: animorum ingeniorumque naturale quoddam quasi pabulum consideratio naturae, id. Ac. 2, 41, 127.—Hence the expressions: agitatio animi, attentio, contentio; animi adversio; applicatio animi; judicium, opinio animorum, etc. (v. these vv.); and animum advertere, adjungere, adplicare, adpellere, inducere, etc. (v. these vv.).—
2. Of particular faculties of mind, the memory: etiam nunc mihi Scripta illa dicta sunt in animo Chrysidis, Ter. And. 1, 5, 46: An imprimi, quasi ceram, animum putamus etc. (an idea of Aristotle's), Cic. Tusc. 1, 25, 61: ex animo effluere, id. de Or. 2, 74, 300: omnia fert aetas, animum quoque; ... Nunc oblita mihi tot carmina, Verg. E. 9, 51.—
3. Consciousness (physically considered) or the vital power, on which consciousness depends ( = conscientia, q. v. II. A., or anima, q. v. II. E.): vae miserae mihi. Animo malest: aquam velim, I'm fainting, my wits are going, Plaut. Am. 5, 1, 6; id. Curc. 2, 3, 33: reliquit animus Sextium gravibus acceptis vulneribus, Caes. B. G. 6, 38: Unā eademque viā sanguis animusque sequuntur, Verg. A. 10, 487: animusque reliquit euntem, Ov. M. 10, 459: nisi si timor abstulit omnem Sensum animumque, id. ib. 14, 177: linqui deinde animo et submitti genu coepit, Curt. 4, 6, 20: repente animo linqui solebat, Suet. Caes. 45: ad recreandos defectos animo puleio, Plin. 20, 14, 54, § 152.—
4. The conscience, in mal. part. (v. conscientia, II. B. 2. b.): cum conscius ipse animus se remordet, Lucr. 4, 1135: quos conscius animus exagitabat, Sall. C. 14, 3: suae malae cogitationes conscientiaeque animi terrent, Cic. Sex. Rosc. 67.—
5. In Plaut. very freq., and once also in Cic., meton. for judicium, sententia, opinion, judgment; mostly meo quidem animo or meo animo, according to my mind, in my opinion, Plaut. Men. 1, 3, 17: e meo quidem animo aliquanto facias rectius, si, etc., id. Aul. 3, 6, 3: meo quidem animo, hic tibi hodie evenit bonus, id. Bacch. 1, 1, 69; so id. Aul. 3, 5, 4; id. Curc. 4, 2, 28; id. Bacch. 3, 2, 10; id. Ep. 1, 2, 8; id. Poen. 1, 2, 23; id. Rud. 4, 4, 94; Cic. Sest. 22: edepol lenones meo animo novisti, Plaut. Curc. 4, 2, 19: nisi, ut meus est animus, fieri non posse arbitror, id. Cist. 1, 1, 5 (cf.: EX MEI ANIMI SENTENTIA, Inscr. Orell. 3665: ex animi tui sententiā, Cic. Off. 3, 29, 108).—
6. The imagination, the fancy (for which Cic. often uses cogitatio, as Ac. 2, 15, 48): cerno animo sepultam patriam, miseros atque insepultos acervos civium, Cic. Cat. 4, 6, 11: fingere animo jubebat aliquem etc., id. Sen. 12, 41: Fingite animis; litterae enim sunt cogitationes nostrae, et quae volunt, sic intuentur, ut ea cernimus, quae videmus, id. Mil. 29, 79: Nihil animo videre poterant, id. Tusc. 1, 16, 38.—
B. The power of feeling, the sensibility, the heart, the feelings, affections, inclinations, disposition, passions (either honorable or base; syn.: sensus, adfectus, pectus, cor), ὁ θυμός.
1. a.. In gen., heart, soul, spirit, feeling, inclination, affection, passion: Medea, animo aegra, amore saevo saucia, Enn. ap. Auct. ad Her. 2, 22 (cf. Plaut. Truc. 2, 7, 36: animo hercle homo suo est miser): tu si animum vicisti potius quam animus te, est quod gaudeas, etc., Plaut. Trin. 2, 2, 27-29: harum scelera et lacrumae confictae dolis Redducunt animum aegrotum ad misericordiam, Ter. And. 3, 3, 27: Quo gemitu conversi animi (sunt), Verg. A. 2, 73: Hoc fletu concussi animi, id. ib. 9, 498; 4, 310: animum offendere, Cic. Lig. 4; id. Deiot. 33; so Vulg. Gen. 26, 35.—Mens and animus are often conjoined and contrasted, mind and heart (cf. the Homeric κατὰ φρένα καὶ κατὰ θυμόν, in mind and heart): mentem atque animum delectat suum, entertains his mind and delights his heart, Enn. ap. Gell. 19, 10: Satin tu sanus mentis aut animi tui? Plaut. Trin. 2, 4, 53: mala mens, malus animus, bad mind, bad heart, Ter. And. 1, 1, 137: animum et mentem meam ipsā cogitatione hominum excellentium conformabam, Cic. Arch. 6, 14: Nec vero corpori soli subveniendum est, sed menti atque animo multo magis, id. Sen. 11, 36: ut omnium mentes animosque perturbaret, Caes. B. G. 1, 39; 1, 21: Istuc mens animusque fert, Hor. Ep. 1, 14, 8: Stare Socrates dicitur tamquam quodam recessu mentis atque animi facto a corpore, Gell. 2, 1; 15, 2, 7.— And very rarely with this order inverted: Jam vero animum ipsum mentemque hominis, etc., Cic. N. D. 2, 59, 147: mente animoque nobiscum agunt, Tac. G. 29: quem nobis animum, quas mentes imprecentur, id. H. 1, 84; and sometimes pleon. without such distinction: in primis regina quietum Accipit in Teucros animum mentemque benignam, a quiet mind and kindly heart, Verg. A. 1, 304; so, pravitas animi atque ingenii, Vell. 2, 112, 7 (for mens et animus, etc., in the sense of thought, used as a pleonasm, v. supra, II. A. 1.): Verum animus ubi semel se cupiditate devinxit malā, etc., Ter. Heaut. 1, 2, 34: animus perturbatus et incitatus nec cohibere se potest, nec quo loco vult insistere, Cic. Tusc. 4, 18, 41: animum comprimit, id. ib. 2, 22, 53: animus alius ad alia vitia propensior, id. ib. 4, 37, 81; id. ad Q. Fr. 1, 1: sed quid ego hic animo lamentor, Enn. Ann. 6, 40: tremere animo, Cic. ad Q. Fr. 1, 1, 4: ingentes animo concipit iras, Ov. M. 1, 166: exsultare animo, id. ib. 6, 514.—So often ex animo, from the heart, from the bottom of one's heart, deeply, truly, sincerely: Paulum interesse censes ex animo omnia facias an de industriā? from your heart or with some design, Ter. And. 4, 4, 55; id. Ad. 1, 1, 47: nisi quod tibi bene ex animo volo, id. Heaut. 5, 2, 6: verbum ex animo dicere, id. Eun. 1, 2, 95: sive ex animo id fit sive simulate, Cic. N. D. 2, 67, 168: majore studio magisve ex animo petere non possum, id. Fam. 11, 22: ex animo vereque diligi, id. ib. 9, 6, 2: ex animo dolere, Hor. A. P. 432: quae (gentes) dederunt terram meam sibi cum gaudio et toto corde et ex animo, Vulg. Ezech. 36, 5; ib. Eph. 6, 6; ib. 1 Pet. 5, 3.—And with gen.
(a). With verbs: Quid illam miseram animi excrucias? Plaut. Mil. 4, 2, 76; 4, 6, 65: Antipho me excruciat animi, Ter. Phorm. 1, 4, 10: discrucior animi, id. Ad. 4, 4, 1: in spe pendebit animi, id. Heaut. 4, 4, 5: juvenemque animi miserata repressit, pitying him in her heart, θυμῷ φιλέουσά τε κηδομένη τε (Hom. Il. 1, 196), Verg. A. 10, 686.—
(b). With adjj.: aeger animi, Liv. 1, 58; 2, 36; 6, 10; Curt. 4, 3, 11; Tac. H. 3, 58: infelix animi, Verg. A. 4, 529: felix animi, Juv. 14, 159: victus animi, Verg. G. 4, 491: ferox animi, Tac. A. 1, 32: promptus animi, id. H. 2, 23: praestans animi, Verg. A. 12, 19: ingens animi, Tac. A. 1, 69 (for this gen. v. Ramsh. Gr. p. 323; Key, § 935; Wagner ad Plaut. Aul. v. 105; Draeger, Hist. Synt. I. p. 443).—
b. Meton., disposition, character (so, often ingenium): nimis paene animo es Molli, Pac. ap. Cic. Tusc. 2, 21, 49: animo audaci proripit sese, Pac. Trag. Rel. p. 109 Rib.: petulans protervo, iracundo animo, Plaut. Bacch. 4, 3, 1; id. Truc. 4, 3, 1: ubi te vidi animo esse omisso (omisso = neglegenti, Don.), Ter. Heaut. 5, 2, 9; Cic. Fam. 2. 17 fin.: promptus animus vester, Vulg. 2 Cor. 9, 2: animis estis simplicibus et mansuetis nimium creditis unicuique, Auct. ad Her. 4, 37: eorum animi molles et aetate fluxi dolis haud difficulter capiebantur, Sall. C. 14, 5: Hecabe, Non oblita animorum, annorum oblita suorum, Ov. M. 13, 550: Nihil est tam angusti animi tamque parvi, quam amare divitias, Cic. Off. 1, 20, 68: sordidus atque animi parvi, Hor. S. 1, 2, 10; Vell. 2, 25, 3: Drusus animi fluxioris erat, Suet. Tib. 52.—
2. In particular, some one specific emotion, inclination, or passion (honorable or base; in this signif., in the poets and prose writers, very freq. in the plur.). —
a. Courage, spirit: ibi nostris animus additus est, Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 94; cf. Ter. Heaut. 3, 2, 31; id. And. 2, 1, 33: deficiens animo maesto cum corde jacebat, Lucr. 6, 1232: virtute atque animo resistere, Cic. Fam. 5, 2, 8: fac animo magno fortique sis, id. ib. 6, 14 fin.: Cassio animus accessit, et Parthis timor injectus est, id. Att. 5, 20, 3: nostris animus augetur, Caes. B. G. 7, 70: mihi in dies magis animus accenditur, Sall. C. 20, 6; Cic. Att. 5, 18; Liv. 8, 19; 44, 29: Nunc demum redit animus, Tac. Agr. 3: bellica Pallas adest, Datque animos, Ov. M. 5, 47: pares annis animisque, id. ib. 7, 558: cecidere illis animique manusque, id. ib. 7, 347 (cf.: tela viris animusque cadunt, id. F. 3, 225) et saep.—Hence, bono animo esse or uti, to be of good courage, Varr. R. R. 2, 5, 5: Am. Bono animo es. So. Scin quam bono animo sim? Plaut. Am. 22, 39: In re malā animo si bono utare, adjuvat, id. Capt. 2, 1, 9: bono animo fac sis, Ter. Ad. 3, 5, 1: quin tu animo bono es, id. ib. 4, 2, 4: quare bono animo es, Cic. Att. 5, 18; so Vulg. 2 Macc. 11, 26; ib. Act. 18, 25; so also, satis animi, sufficient courage, Ov. M. 3, 559.—Also for hope: magnus mihi animus est, hodiernum diem initium libertatis fore, Tac. Agr, 30.—Trop., of the violent, stormy motion of the winds of Æolus: Aeolus mollitque animos et temperat iras, Verg. A. 1, 57.—Of a top: dant animos plagae, give it new force, quicker motion, Verg. A. 7, 383.— Of spirit in discourse: in Asinio Pollione et consilii et animi satis, Quint. 10, 1, 113. —
b. Haughtiness, arrogance, pride: quae civitas est in Asiā, quae unius tribuni militum animos ac spiritus capere possit? can bear the arrogance and pride, etc., Cic. Imp. Pomp. 22, 66: jam insolentiam norātis hominis: norātis animos ejus ac spiritus tribunicios, id. Clu. 39, 109; so id. Caecin. 11 al.; Ov. Tr. 5, 8, 3 (cf.: quia paululum vobis accessit pecuniae, Sublati animi sunt, Ter. Hec. 3, 5, 56).—
c. Violent passion, vehemence, wrath: animum vincere, iracundiam cohibere, etc., Cic. Marcell. 3: animum rege, qui nisi paret Imperat, Hor. Ep. 1, 2, 62: qui dominatur animo suo, Vulg. Prov. 16, 32.—So often in plur.; cf οἱ θυμοί: ego meos animos violentos meamque iram ex pectore jam promam, Plaut. Truc. 2, 7, 43: vince animos iramque tuam, Ov. H. 3, 85; id. M. 8, 583; Prop. 1, 5, 12: Parce tuis animis, vita, nocere tibi, id. 2, 5, 18: Sic longius aevum Destruit ingentes animos, Luc. 8, 28: coëunt sine more, sine arte, Tantum animis irāque, Stat. Th. 11, 525 al.—
d. Moderation, patience, calmness, contentedness, in the phrase aequus animus, an even mind: si est animus aequos tibi, Plaut. Aul. 2, 2, 10; id. Rud. 2, 3, 71; Cic. Rosc. Am. 50, 145; and often in the abl., aequo animo, with even mind, patiently, etc.: aequo animo ferre, Ter. And. 2, 3, 23; Cic. Tusc. 1, 39, 93; id. Sen. 23, 84; Nep. Dion. 6, 4; Liv. 5, 39: aequo animo esse, Vulg. 3 Reg. 21, 7; ib. Judith, 7, 23: Aequo animo est? of merry heart (Gr. εὐθυμεῖ), ib. Jac. 5, 13: animis aequis remittere, Cic. Clu. 2, 6: aequiore animo successorem opperiri, Suet. Tib. 25: haud aequioribus animis audire, Liv. 23, 22: sapientissimus quisque aequissimo animo moritur; stultissimus iniquissimo. Cic. Sen. 23, 83; so id. Tusc. 1, 45, 109; Sall. C. 3, 2; Suet. Aug. 56: iniquo animo, Att. Trag. Rel. p. 150 Rib.; Cic. Tusc. 2, 2, 5; Quint. 11, 1, 66.—
e. Agreeable feeling, pleasure, delight: cubat amans animo obsequens, Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 134: indulgent animis, et nulla quid utile cura est, Ov. M. 7, 566; so, esp. freq.: animi causā (in Plaut. once animi gratiā), for the sake of amusement, diversion (cf.: haec (animalia) alunt animi voluptatisque causā, Caes. B. G. 5, 12): Post animi causā mihi navem faciam, Plaut. Rud. 4, 2, 27; so id. Trin. 2, 2, 53; id. Ep. 1, 1, 43: liberare fidicinam animi gratiā, id. ib. 2, 2, 90: qui illud animi causā fecerit, hunc praedae causā quid facturum putabis? Cic. Phil. 7, 6: habet animi causā rus amoenum et suburbanum, id. Rosc. Am. 46 Matth.; cf. id. ib. § 134, and Madv. ad Cic. Fin. 2, 17, 56; Cic. Fam. 7, 2: Romanos in illis munitionibus animine causā cotidie exerceri putatis? Caes. B. G. 7, 77; Plin. praef. 17 Sill.—
f. Disposition toward any one: hoc animo in nos esse debebis, ut etc., Cic. Fam. 2, 1 fin.: meus animus erit in te semper, quem tu esse vis, id. ib. 5, 18 fin.: qui, quo animo inter nos simus, ignorant, id. ib. 3, 6; so id. ib. 4, 15; 5, 2: In quo in primis quo quisque animo, studio, benevolentiā fecerit, ponderandum est, id. Off. 1, 15, 49: quod (Allobroges) nondum bono animo in populum Romanum viderentur, to be well disposed, Caes. B. G. 1, 6 fin.—In the pregn. signif. of kind, friendly feeling, affection, kindness, liberality: animum fidemque praetorianorum erga se expertus est, Suet. Oth. 8: Nec non aurumque animusque Latino est, Verg. A. 12, 23.—Hence, meton., of a person who is loved, my heart, my soul: salve, anime mi, Plaut. Curc. 1, 2, 3: da, meus ocellus, mea rosa, mi anime, da, mea voluptas, id. As. 3, 3, 74; so id. ib. 5, 2, 90; id. Curc. 1, 3, 9; id. Bacch. 1, 1, 48; id. Most. 1, 4, 23; id. Men. 1, 3, 1; id. Mil. 4, 8, 20; id. Rud. 4, 8, 1; Ter. Eun. 1, 2, 15 et saep. —
C. The power of willing, the will, inclination, desire, purpose, design, intention (syn.: voluntas, arbitrium, mens, consilium, propositum), ἡ βούλησις: qui rem publicam animo certo adjuverit, Att. Trag Rel. p. 182 Rib.: pro inperio tuo meum animum tibi servitutem servire aequom censui, Plaut. Trin. 2, 2, 23: Ex animique voluntate id procedere primum, goes forth at first from the inclination of the soul, Lucr. 2, 270; so, pro animi mei voluntate, Cic. Fam. 5, 20, 8 (v. Manut. ad h.l.): teneo, quid animi vostri super hac re siet, Plaut. Am. prol. 58; 1, 1, 187: Nam si semel tuom animum ille intellexerit, Prius proditurum te etc., Ter. Heaut. 3, 1, 69: Prius quam tuom ut sese habeat animum ad nuptias perspexerit, id. And. 2, 3, 4: Sin aliter animus voster est, ego etc., id. Ad. 3, 4, 46: Quid mi istaec narras? an quia non audisti, de hac re animus meus ut sit? id. Hec. 5, 2, 19: qui ab auro gazāque regiā manus, oculos, animum cohibere possit, Cic. Imp. Pomp. 66: istum exheredare in animo habebat, id. Rosc. Am. 18, 52: nobis crat in animo Ciceronem ad Caesarem mittere, we had it in mind to send, etc., id. Fam. 14, 11; Serv. ad Cic. ib. 4, 12: hostes in foro constiterunt, hoc animo, ut, etc., Caes. B. G. 7, 28: insurrexerunt uno animo in Paulum, with one mind, Vulg. Act. 18, 12; 19, 29: persequi Jugurtham animus ardebat, Sall. J. 39, 5 Gerlach (others, animo, as Dietsch); so id. de Rep. Ord. 1, 8: in nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas, my mind inclines to tell of, etc., Ov. M. 1, 1.—Hence, est animus alicui, with inf., to have a mind for something, to aim at, etc.: omnibus unum Opprimere est animus, Ov. M. 5, 150: Sacra Jovi Stygio perficere est animus, Verg. A. 4, 639: Fuerat animus conjuratis corpus occisi in Tiberim trahere, Suet. Caes. 82 fin.; id. Oth. 6; cf. id. Calig. 56.—So, aliquid alicui in animo est, with inf., Tac. G. 3.—So, inducere in animum or animum, to resolve upon doing something; v. induco.—
D. Trop., of the principle of life and activity in irrational objects, as in Engl. the word mind is used.
1. Of brutes: in bestiis, quarum animi sunt rationis expertes, whose minds, Cic. Tusc. 1, 33, 80: Sunt bestiae, in quibus etiam animorum aliquā ex parte motus quosdam videmus, id. Fin. 5, 14, 38: ut non inscite illud dictum videatur in sue, animum illi pecudi datum pro sale, ne putisceret, id. ib. 5, 13, 38, ubi v. Madv.: (apes Ingentes animos angusto in pectore versant, Verg. G. 4, 83: Illiusque animos, qui multos perdidit unus, Sumite serpentis, Ov. M. 3, 544: cum pecudes pro regionis caelique statu et habitum corporis et ingenium animi et pili colorem gerant, Col. 6, 1, 1: Umbria (boves progenerat) vastos nec minus probabiles animis quam corporibus, id. 6, 1, 2 si equum ipsum nudum et solum corpus ejus et animum contemplamur, App. de Deo Socr. 23 (so sometimes mens: iniquae mentis asellus, Hor. S. 1, 9, 20).—
2. Of plants: haec quoque Exuerint silvestrem animum, i. e. naturam, ingenium, their wild nature, Verg. G. 2, 51.—
III. Transf. Of God or the gods, as we say, the Divine Mind, the Mind of God: certe et deum ipsum et divinum animum corpore liberatum cogitatione complecti possumus, Cic. Tusc. 1, 22, 51 (so mens, of God, id. ib. 1, 22, 66; id. Ac. 2, 41, 126): Tantaene animis caelestibus irae? Verg. A. 1, 11.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *anamos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁mos, a nominal derivative of Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- + *-mos, in which the root means "to breathe". Cognate with Ancient Greek ἄνεμος (ánemos, “wind, breeze”), Old Armenian հողմ (hołm, “wind”), Old Frisian omma (“breath”), English onde (“breath”, dialectal), Norwegian Nynorsk ande (“breath”), Danish ånde (“breath”), and possibly Sanskrit अनिल (ánila, “air, wind”); compare also Tocharian B āñme (“self; soul”) and Old Armenian անձն (anjn, “person”).

Descendants
  • Catalanànim
  • Englishanimus
  • Italiananimo
  • Portugueseanimus
  • Portugueseânimo
  • Spanishánimo
  • Dutchanimofrom Italian animo
  • Sicilianànimu

Quick answers

What does animus mean in Latin?
animus, a noun, means “life, life force, soul, vitality (that life-giving aspect which animates a thing); conscience, intellect, mind, reason, sensibility, understanding (the intellectual dimension of the human mind in general; the seat of the”.
What is the genitive of animus?
The genitive singular is animī. animus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce animus?
In classical Latin, [ˈa.nɪ.mʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈaː.ni.mus].