alma (Spanish)
Where does "alma" come from?
The Spanish word 'alma' traces its roots back to the Proto-Indo-European root 'h₂enh₁-', which meant 'to breathe' and was likely inspired by the sound of breath itself. This concept evolved into the Latin 'anima,' signifying air or breath, before being inherited through Old Spanish to become the modern word for 'soul.' Interestingly, it exists alongside 'ánima' as a doublet, both descending from the same original Latin source.
Full etymology tree
- alma (Spanish), 'soul'
- inherited alma (Old Spanish)
- inherited anima (Latin), 'air, breath'
- inherited *anamos (Proto-Italic), 'breath'
- inherited *h₂enh₁mos (Proto-Indo-European), 'breath'
- compound *h₂enh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to breathe'
- compound *-mos (Proto-Indo-European), 'Creates action/result nouns from verb stems.'
- inherited *h₂enh₁mos (Proto-Indo-European), 'breath'
- inherited *anamos (Proto-Italic), 'breath'
- inherited anima (Latin), 'air, breath'
- inherited alma (Old Spanish)
Ancestors
- anima (Latin)
Cognates and doublets
- ánima (Spanish)
Descendants and derived words
- alma de cántaro (Spanish)
- alma en pena (Spanish)
- alma gemela (Spanish)
- almilla (Spanish)
- almita (Spanish)
- caérsele el alma a los pies (Spanish)
- con el alma en vilo (Spanish)
- con toda el alma (Spanish)
- cura de almas (Spanish)
- del alma (Spanish)
- en cuerpo y alma (Spanish)
- en el alma (Spanish)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris