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Definition: Soul |
SoulNoun1. The immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life. 2. A human being; "there was too much for one person to do". 3. Deep feeling or emotion. 4. The human embodiment of something; "the soul of honor". 5. A secular form of gospel that was a major Black musical genre in the 1960s and 1970s; "soul was politically significant during the Civil Rights movement". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "soul" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Satire | SOUL, n. A spiritual entity concerning which there hath been brave disputation. Plato held that those souls which in a previous state of existence (antedating Athens) had obtained the clearest glimpses of eternal truth entered into the bodies of persons who became philosophers. Plato himself was a philosopher. The souls that had least contemplated divine truth animated the bodies of usurpers and despots. Dionysius I, who had threatened to decapitate the broad- browed philosopher, was a usurper and a despot. Plato, doubtless, was not the first to construct a system of philosophy that could be quoted against his enemies; certainly he was not the last. "Concerning the nature of the soul," saith the renowned author of Diversiones Sanctorum, "there hath been hardly more argument than that of its place in the body. Mine own belief is that the soul hath her seat in the abdomen -- in which faith we may discern and interpret a truth hitherto unintelligible, namely that the glutton is of all men most devout. He is said in the Scripture to 'make a god of his belly' -- why, then, should he not be pious, having ever his Deity with him to freshen his faith? Who so well as he can know the might and majesty that he shrines? Truly and soberly, the soul and the stomach are one Divine Entity; and such was the belief of Promasius, who nevertheless erred in denying it immortality. He had observed that its visible and material substance failed and decayed with the rest of the body after death, but of its immaterial essence he knew nothing. This is what we call the Appetite, and it survives the wreck and reek of mortality, to be rewarded or punished in another world, according to what it hath demanded in the flesh. The Appetite whose coarse clamoring was for the unwholesome viands of the general market and the public refectory shall be cast into eternal famine, whilst that which firmly through civilly insisted on ortolans, caviare, terrapin, anchovies, pates de foie gras and all such Christian comestibles shall flesh its spiritual tooth in the souls of them forever and ever, and wreak its divine thirst upon the immortal parts of the rarest and richest wines ever quaffed here below. Such is my religious faith, though I grieve to confess that neither His Holiness the Pope nor His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury (whom I equally and profoundly revere) will assent to its dissemination.". Source: Devil's Dictionary. |
Dream Interpretation | To dream of seeing your soul leaving your body, signifies you are in danger of sacrificing yourself to useless designs, which will dwarf your sense of honor and cause you to become mercenary and uncharitable. For an artist to see his soul in another, foretells he will gain distinction if he applies himself to his work and leaves off sentimental ro^les. To imagine another's soul is in you, denotes you will derive solace and benefit from some stranger who is yet to come into your life. For a young woman musician to dream that she sees another young woman on the stage clothed in sheer robes, and imagining it is her own soul in the other person, denotes she will be outrivaled in some great undertaking. To dream that you are discussing the immortality of your soul, denotes you will improve opportunities which will aid you in gaining desired knowledge and pleasure of intercourse with intellectual people. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted .... |
Literature | Soul The Moslems fancy that it is necessary, when a man is bow-strung, to relax the rope a little before death occurs to let the soul escape. The Greeks and Romans seemed to think that the soul made its escape with life out of the death-wound. Soul. The Moslems say that the souls of the faithful assume the forms of snow-white birds, and nestle under the throne of Allah until the resurrection. Soul. Heraclitus held the soul to be a spark of the stellar essence: "scintilia stellaris essentiae." (Macrobius: Somnium Scipioris, lib. i. cap. 14.) "Vital spark of heavenly flame, Quit, oh! quit this mortal frame." Pope: The Dying Christian to his Soul. Soul, in Egyptian hieroglyphics, is represented by several emblems, as a basket of fire, a heron, a hawk with a human face, and a ram. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
In Egyptian mythology, the human soul is made up of five parts: the Ka, the Ba, the Akh, the Name and the Shadow.
Akh
The Akh ("to shine") changed somewhat in the history of Egyptian belief. It was, at first, the unchanging unification of Ka and Ba, which united after the death of the physical body. In this sense, it was a sort of ghost. The Akh was then a part of the Akh-Akh, the panoply of Akhs from other people, gods and animals. Alternatively, the Ka changed into the Akh and Ba after death, rather than uniting with the Ba. In this system, the Akh went to the underworld and became the Ka again, while th Ba remained on Earth in the corpse of the deceased.
Alternative: Khu
Ka
The Ka was the spiritual soul of a person or a god, a type of mana. The Ka was created by Mesenet along with the physical form of the person, and then continued to the underworld after the death of the physical body.
Ba
After the death of an individual, the Ba was the shell or physical body that remained on Earth in its tomb. At some point the Ba was to reunite with the Ka and thus the body was mummified. Should the body be destroyed it was believed that a stone sculpture would suffice.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Egyptian soul."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
According to many religions, a soul is a supernatural and immaterial part of a human (compare spirit). In most religions, the soul is strongly connected to the afterlife, but opinions vary wildly on what happens to the soul after death. Many materialists and most atheists reject the concept of a soul.
The soul in the Tanach (Hebrew Bible, Old Testament)
(To be written)
Jewish beliefs
Jewish beliefs about the soul are discussed in some detail in the entry on Jewish eschatology.
The soul in the Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism)
The Zohar posits that the human soul has three elements, the nefesh, ru'ah, and neshamah. The nefesh is found in all humans, and enters the physical body at birth. It is the source of one's physical and psychological nature. The next two parts of the soul are not implanted at birth, but are slowly created over time; their development depends on the actions and beliefs of the individual. They are said to only fully exist in people awakened spiritually. A common way of explaining the three parts of the soul is as follows:
The Raaya Meheimna, a later addition to the Zohar by an unknown author, posits that there are two more parts of the human soul, the chayyah and yehidah. Gersom Scholem writes that these "were considered to represent the sublimest levels of intuitive cognition, and to be within the grasp of only a few chosen individuals".
- Nefesh - the lower part, or animal part, of the soul. Is linked to instincts and bodily cravings.
- Ruach - the middle soul, the spirit. It contains the moral virtues and the ability to distinguish between good and evil.
- Neshamah - the higher soul, or super-soul. This separates man from all other life forms. It is related to the intellect, and allows man to enjoy and benefit from the afterlife. This part of the soul is provided both to Jew and non-Jew alike at birth. It allows one to have some awareness of the existence and presence of God.
Both Rabbinic and kabbalistic works posit that there are also a few additional, non-permanent states to the soul that people can develop on certain occasions. These extra souls, or extra states of the soul, play no part in any afterlife scheme, but are mentioned for completeness.
- Chayyah - The part of the soul that allows one to have an awareness of the divine life force itself.
- Yehidad - the highest plane of the soul, in which one can achieve as full a union with God as is possible.
- Ruach HaKodesh - a state of the soul that makes prophecy possible. Since the age of classical prophecy passed, no one receives the soul of prophesy any longer.
- Neshamah Yeseira - The supplemental soul that a Jew experiences on Shabbat. It makes possible an enhanced spiritual enjoyment of the day. This is exists only when one is observing Shabbat; it can be lost and gained depending on one's observance.
- Neshoma Kedosha - Provided to Jews at the age of majority (13 for boys, 12 for girls), and is related to the study and fulfillment of the Torah commandments. It exists only when one studies and follows Torah; it can be lost and gained depending on one's study and observance.
Christian beliefs
Most Christians believe the soul to be the immortal essence of a human, and that after death, the soul is either rewarded or punished. Whether this reward or punishment is contingent upon doing good deeds, or merely upon believing in God and Jesus, is a heated dispute among different Christian groups.
A sometimes vexed question in Christianity has been the origin of the soul; the major theories put forward are creationism, traducianism and pre-existence.
A number of less mainstream Christian minority beliefs:
See the discussion on Christian eschatology for more information.
- A few Christian groups do not believe in the soul, and hold that people cease to exist, both mind and body, at death; they claim however that God will recreate the minds and bodies of believers in Jesus Christ at some future time, the "end of the world".
- Another minority of Christians believe in the soul, but don't believe it is inherently immortal. This minority also believes the life of Christ brings immortality, but only to believers.
- Mediaeval Christian thinkers often assigned to the soul attributes such as thought and imagination as well as faith and love: this suggests that the boundaries between "soul" and "mind" can vary in different interpretations.
- The soul sleep theory states that the soul goes to 'sleep' at the time of death, and stays in this quiescent state until the last judgment.
- The 'absent from the body, present with the Lord' theory states that the soul at the point of death, immediately is present at the end of time, without experiencing any time passing between.
- The 'purgatory' theory states the soul (if it is imperfect) spends a time of purging or cleansing before being ready for the end of time.
Buddhist beliefs
According to Buddhism, all component or conditioned things are impermanent and in a constant state of flux. Therefore in opposition, the existence of an unchanging and independent self, in this world, is denied since it goes against the Buddhist principle of selflessness (anatta). Buddhists hold that the notion of a permanent self is one of the main root causes for the wars and conflicts in human history, and that by living by anatta or not-self, we may go beyond our mundane desires. The ineffable state of Nirvana is solely recognized as being distinct. Conventionally speaking though, the soul or self for Buddhists is spoken of socially but under the conviction that we are dependent on others and not independent unchanging entities. At death the body & mind disintegrates, but if the disintegrating mind contains any remaining traces of karma, it will cause the continuity of the consciousness to bounce back an arising mind to an awaiting being (i.e. a fetus developing the ability to harbor consciousness). Thus Buddhists teach that a reborn being is neither entirely different nor exactly the same.
Hindu beliefs
The Sanskrit word most closely corresponding to soul is "atman", which can mean soul or self more or less interchangeably. There are many variant beliefs on the origin, purpose, and fate of the soul in Hinduism, owing to the fact that Hinduism is not, properly speaking, one religion but a diverse group of religions or religious philosophies. For example, advaita (non-dualistic) conception of the soul accords it union with Brahman (the absolute uncreated; roughly, the Godhead), in eventuality or in pre-existing fact. Dvaita (dualistic) concepts reject this, identifying the soul as a different and incompatible substance.
Jainism
See: jiva
Other beliefs
In Egyptian Mythology, a person possessed six souls, three of the body and three of the mind. They were called Chet, Ren, Schut, Ka, Ba and Ach.
Some Transhumanists believe that it will become possible to perform mind transfer, either from one human body to another, or from a human body to a computer. Operations of this type (along with teleportation), raise philosophical questions related to the concept of the Soul.
Crisscrossing and transcending any specific religion, the phenomena of therianthropy and the existence of otherkin might also be briefly mentioned. These can best be described as phenomena, and not beliefs, since people of all walks of life, religions, ethnicity, backgrounds and countries of origin find therianthropy to be a reality for them.
Therianthropy is the belief that a person has a spiritual, emotional, or mental connection with an animal. This manifests itself in many forms, often resulting in a deeper spiritual awareness. The reasons for this occurrence (or existence), and purpose are often explained in terms of the person's own religion/religious beliefs. A similar belief is that held by Otherkin, who generally believe their souls are entirely non-human, and usually not of this world.
Still More Beliefs and Ideas
Another fairly large segment of the population, not necessarily favoring organized religion, labels themselves spiritual and hold that not only do humans have souls, but also all other living creatures aswell. Furthermore, still some believe the entire existence of the universe has a cosmic soul, a spirit or unified consciousness.
The soul spirit might be linked with the idea of an existence before and after this present one. The soul could be considered as the spark, the self. It is the 'I ' in existence that feels and lives life.
Some people think that our 'souls' are in part echoing to the edges of this universe. Even, multiple universes, with compiled multiple possibilities, (see science fiction author Robert Heinlein), each presented with a slightly different energy version of yourself.
Scientists have tried to measure the soul. The soul is an effective means to communicate certain information about ourselves. The soul is thought to be connected to The Great Spirit that is in all things. The weight of the soul remains elusive to science, but it seems every human has experienced something that touched their 'soul'. Whether it be a loved one, music, grief or happiness the soul is said to feel it all.
See also:
- soul music
- Vitalism
External links
- http://www.kodekitten.com/therian.html -- A Therianthropy Overview
- Spiritual Transcendentalism
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Soul."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
This article is about the novel Soul Music. For the type of music, see Soul music.Soul Music is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, published in 1994. Like many of the Discworld novels, it introduces an element of modern society into the magical and vaguely late medieval, early modern world of Discworld, in this case, Rock and Roll music and stardom, with nearly disastrous consequences.
External Links
- Annotations for Soul Music
- Quotes from Soul Music
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Soul Music."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Soul music is a type of music which grew out of rhythm and blues and gospel during the late 1950s and early 1960s among African Americans in the United States. Soul music usually features individual singers backed by a traditional band consisting of rhythm section and horns.
The development of soul music was spurred by two main trends: the urbanization of R&B and the secularization of gospel. Artists like Ben E. King, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke and the Everly Brothers mixed the passion of gospel vocals with the catchy, rhythmic music of R&B, thus forming soul in the late 1950s. Socially, the vast audience of white teens who had been listening to (primarily) watered-down white covers of black R&B and rock hits began demanding records by the original black artists, such as Little Richard and Chuck Berry. By the late 1950s, this had caused several record labels to seek out marketable versions of black music. The most influential labels were Stax, based out of Memphis, and Motown, based out of Detroit.
During the 1960s, soul music was popular among blacks in the US, and among many mainstream listeners throughout the United States and Europe. Blue eyed soul artists (white musicians who performed for white audiences) like the Righteous Brothers achieved the greatest success in the short term, though artists like Aretha Franklin and James Brown have proven more enduring. Other prominent soul performers of the period were Bobby Bland, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and Joe Tex, Along with blue-eyed soul came a large number of regional varieties of soul.
By the early 1970s, soul music had been influenced by psychedelic rock and other influences, and artists like Marvin Gaye (What's Going On) and Curtis Mayfield (Superfly) released album-length statements with hard-hitting social commentary. Artists like James Brown had led soul towards a dance-oriented jam festival, resulting in 1970s funk bands like P Funk, The Meters and War. During the 70s, some highly slick and commercial blue eyed soul acts like Hall & Oates achieved mainstream success, along with The Delphonics and similar Philadelphia soul groups. By the end of the 70s disco was dominating the charts and funk, Philly soul and most other genres were dominated by disco-inflected tracks.
After the death of disco in the late 1970s, soul superstars like Prince (Purple Rain) and Michael Jackson (Off the Wall) took over. With sultry, sexually charged vocals and dance-able beats, these artists dominated the charts throughout the 1980s. Female soul singers like Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson and Tina Turner also gained great popularity during the last half of the decade.
In the early 1990s, alternative rock, hair metal and gangsta rap ruled the charts, though New Jack Swing groups began to merge hip hop and soul. Boyz II Men was the most popular of these groups, which quickly fell out of favor. During the later part of the decade, nu soul, which further mixed hip hop and soul, arose, led by Mary J. Blige, D'Angelo and Lauryn Hill.
See also; List of Soul performers
- blue eyed soul -- Performed by white artists, blue eyed soul is characterized by catchy hooks and sweet melodies. It arose from a mixture of Elvis Presley and Bill Haley-derived rockabilly and Dion and The Four Seasons-inspired doo wop
- other performers: Righteous Brothers, Hall & Oates, The Rascals, Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels, Dusty Springfield
- Detroit soul -- Dominated by Berry Gordy's Motown empire, Detroit soil is strongly rhythmic and influenced by gospel. It often includes handclapping and a powerful bassline, and includes violins, bells and other untraditional instruments. Motown's house band was Earl Van Dyke & the Funk Brothers.
- other performers: Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, The Marvelettes, Mary Wells, Diana Ross & the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops
- songwriters: Holland-Dozier-Holland
- Memphis soul
- New Jack Swing
- Nu soul -- Though usually said to have appeared in the mid-1990s, elements of nu soul, a mixture of soul-styled vocals with hip hop beats and rap interludes, first appeared in the late 1980s with artists like Keith Sweat, Alexander O'Neal and The Force M.D.s. During the early 1990s, En Vogue and Lisa Stansfield continued to bride the gap between New Jack Swing and nu soul, which were distinct genres by the time D'Angelo, Mary J. Blige, Lauryn Hill and Alicia Keys began massively popularizing the sound.
- other performers: G.A.T, Jill Scott, LeVert, Jaguar Wright, Erykah Badu, Adriana Evans, Maxwell, India.Arie, Redmond
- songwriters: Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
- Philadelphia soul
- Quiet Storm -- Usually said to have been invented by Smokey Robinson's Quiet Storm, the genre of the same name is laidback and relaxed easy listening which achieved great mainstream success during the 1980s with artists like Luther Vandross and Anita Baker.
Soul Music is also the title of a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett; see Soul Music
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Soul music."
Synonyms: SoulSynonyms: human (n), individual (n), mortal (n), person (n), psyche (n), somebody (n), someone (n), soulfulness (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Intelligence Wisdom | Genius, inspiration, geist, fire of genius, heaven-born genius, soul; talent;genius, inspiration, geist, fire of genius, heaven-born genius, soul; talent; (aptitude). |
Intrinsicality | Noun: intrinsicality, inbeing, inherence, inhesion; subjectiveness; ego; egohood; essence, noumenon; essentialness; Adjective: essential part, quintessence, incarnation, quiddity, gist, pith, marrow, core, sap, lifeblood, backbone, heart, soul; important part; (importance). |
Life | Noun: life, vitality, viability; animation; vital spark, vital flame, soul, spirit. |
Mankind | Human being; person, personage; individual, creature, fellow creature, mortal, body, somebody; one; such a one, some one; soul, living soul; earthling; party, head, hand; dramatis personae; quidam. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | And how much is your soul worth if you don't (On the Waterfront; writing credit: Budd Schulberg.) It raises all sorts of philosophical questions about the nature of self, about the existence of the soul. Am I me (Being John Malkovich; writing credit: Charlie Kaufman) You are in my very soul, tormenting mewhat can I do (Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones; writing credit: George Lucas) Chinese food, no soul food here (Rush Hour; writing credit: Jim Kouf) A fellow ain't got a soul of his own, just little piece of a big soul, the one big soul that belongs to everybody, then - (The Grapes of Wrath; writing credit: John Steinbeck; Nunnally Johnson) | |
Lyrics | It's all about soul (All About Soul; performing artist: Billy Joel) Make a little birdhouse in your soul (Birdhouse in Your Soul; performing artist: They Might Be Giants) I've been searchin' my soul tonight (Searchin' My Soul; performing artist: Vonda Shepard; writing credit: Vonda Shepard with additional lyrics by Paul Gordon) From the depths of my soul (I Do (Cherish You); performing artist: 98 Degrees; writing credit: Keith Stegall and Dan Hill) Oh boy, see I'm trusting you with my heart, my soul (Are You That Somebody; performing artist: Aaliyah) | |
Clever | Be careless in your dress if you must, but keep a tidy soul. (references; author: Mark Twain) Soul food served here. (references; author: unknown) What soap is for the body; tears are for the soul. (references; author: unknown) A fair face may fade, but a beautiful soul last forever. (references; author: unknown) Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies. (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Body and Soul (2002) Soul Food (2000) Catch My Soul (1974) The Black Moses of Soul (1973) Soul Train (1971) | |
Song Titles | Heart & Soul (performing artist: Huey Lewis & The News) Heart And Soul (performing artist: Jan & Dean) Who Will Save Your Soul (performing artist: Jewel) Soul Twist (Instrumental) (performing artist: King Curtis and His Noble Knights) Soul Man (performing artist: Sam and Dave) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Diagram comparing the situation of the soul in the brain of civilized man and the Prussian anthropoid. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Poor old soul won't get much rest. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | It's the same man. At home he is known as a careful, thrifty soul ... Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Little Eva converting Topsy--"In that moment a ray of real belief, a ray of heavenly love, had penetrated the darkness of her heathen soul". Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Graveyard near Hazard, Kentucky, with individual houses where the soul is supposed to rest. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | The timid soul. The timid soul has read that gangsters occasionally carry machine guns in violin cases. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Industrial crisis: the motherly soul asks Duveen Brothers to pass part out little Imogen's first watercolor. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Wise women, strong, proud healers, midwives, creators, and builders -- they misunderstood your soul for the gentleness within ... Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Heart and soul. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | My homeland, I give you my soul and blood. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
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| "The sea" by PamiFoto PamiFoto Commentary: "The sea: open your soul." | "Eye of the Belgian" by Caron Wiedrick Commentary: "Windows to the soul...:)." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Author | Quotation |
George Herbert | Never was a miser a brave soul. |
John Dryden | Possess your soul with patience. |
| Jealousy, the jaundice of the soul. | |
| Jealousy is the jaundice of the soul. | |
Joseph Joubert | Imagination is the eye of the soul. |
Ralph Waldo Emerson | A strenuous soul hates cheap success. |
St. Augustine | Love is the beauty of the soul. |
St. Bernard | I have liberated my soul. |
Walt Whitman | Whatever satisfies the soul is truth. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Magna Carta | 1215 | Know that, having regard to God and for the salvation of our soul, and those of all our ancestors and heirs, and unto the honor of God and the advancement of his holy Church and for the rectifying of our realm, we have granted as underwritten by advice of our venerable fathers, Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England and cardinal of the holy Roman Church, Henry, archbishop of Dublin, William of London, Peter of Winchester, Jocelyn of Bath and Glastonbury, Hugh of Lincoln, Walter of Worcester, William of Coventry, Benedict of Rochester, bishops; of Master Pandulf, subdeacon and member of the household of our lord the Pope, of brother Aymeric (master of the Knights of the Temple in England), and of the illustrious men William Marshal, earl of Pembroke, William, earl of Salisbury, William, earl of Warenne, William, earl of Arundel, Alan of Galloway (constable of Scotland), Waren Fitz Gerold, Peter Fitz Herbert, Hubert De Burgh (seneschal of Poitou), Hugh de Neville, Matthew Fitz Herbert, Thomas Basset, Alan Basset, Philip d'Aubigny, Robert of Roppesley, John Marshal, John Fitz Hugh, and others, our liegemen. (reference) |
John Locke | 1690 | The public power of all society is above every soul contained in the same society; and the principal use of that power is, to give laws unto all that are under it, which laws in such cases we must obey, unless there be reason shewed which may necessarily inforce, that the law of reason, or of God, doth enjoin the contrary, Hook. (Second Treatise of Government) |
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. | 1963 | Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. (Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1891) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Emma | Austen, Jane | Good soul! she was as grateful as possible, you may be sure |
Sylvie and Bruno | Carroll, Lewis | And his great generous soul seemed so filled with noble ambition as to have no space left for any vain regret or selfish repining |
A Christmas Carol | Dickens, Charles | His heart and soul were in the scene, and with his former self |
Scarlet Letter | Hawthorne, Nathaniel | The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | For him to misplace the buckle of his cravat, he must have received one of those shocks which may well be the earthquakes of the soul. |
Absalom and Achitophel | John Dryden | A fiery soul, which, working out its way, Fretted the pygmy-body to decay, And o'er-inform'd the tenement of clay |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | Nothing stirred within his soul but a cold and cruel and loveless lust |
King Richard III | Shakespeare, William | Dive, thoughts, down to my soul. |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | I pray the Lord my soul to keep |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | The greater part of what my neighbors call good I believe in my soul to be bad, and if I repent of anything, it is very likely to be my good behavior |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Economic History | Canada | Population size should not be the soul indicator used for determining market potential. (references) |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | RESPITE, n. A suspension of hostilities against a sentenced assassin, to enable the Executive to determine whether the murder may not have been done by the prosecuting attorney. Any break in the continuity of a disagreeable expectation. Altgeld upon his incandescend bed Lay, an attendant demon at his head. "O cruel cook, pray grant me some relief -- Some respite from the roast, however brief." "Remember how on earth I pardoned all Your friends in Illinois when held in thrall." "Unhappy soul! for that alone you squirm O'er fire unquenched, a never-dying worm. "Yet, for I pity your uneasy state, Your doom I'll mollify and pains abate. "Naught, for a season, shall your comfort mar, Not even the memory of who you are." Throughout eternal space dread silence fell; Heaven trembled as Compassion entered Hell. "As long, sweet demon, let my respite be As, governing down here, I'd respite thee." "As long, poor soul, as any of the pack You thrust from jail consumed in getting back." A genial chill affected Altgeld's hide While they were turning him on t'other side. Joel Spate Woop |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Carol Channing | You bare your heart and soul and body to possible axe murderers, to hitmen, to crazy people, to somebody. You bear it and do it anyway. It's the only way. And I have done it since the fourth grade. |
Dennis Miller | My soul took the redeye outta here years ago. |
Naomi Campbell | Very much so and I think I wouldn't have wanted it before. I wouldn't have been right in my mind, in my body, in my soul. I feel now if God blesses me with those things, it's more right than it would have been before. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Warren G. Harding | 1921-1923 | If, despite this attitude, war is again forced upon us, I earnestly hope a way may be found which will unify our individual and collective strength and consecrate all America, materially and spiritually, body and soul, to national defense. |
Jimmy Carter | 1977-1981 | Neighborhoods are the fabric and soul of this great land. |
Bill Clinton | 1993-2001 | We cannot, we will not, succumb to the dark impulses that lurk in the far regions of the soul everywhere. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Soul" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.40% of the time. "Soul" is used about 3,013 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.4% | 2,995 | 3,127 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.6% | 18 | 82,615 |
| Total | 100.00% | 3,013 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes names derived from the word "soul". | |||
| Name | Gender | Language | Meaning |
| Naphish | N/A | Biblical | The soul |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references.
| |||
| Country | Name |
| Australia | Washington H Soul Pattinson and Company Limited |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "soul": absorb the soul ♦ ad heart and soul ♦ affect the soul ♦ anguish of the soul ♦ be in it heart and soul ♦ black soul ♦ body and soul ♦ Celestial Soul Clearing ♦ dead soul ♦ disturb the soul ♦ flow of soul ♦ god rest his soul ♦ good soul ♦ he is a good old soul ♦ he is the life and soul of our parties ♦ heart and soul ♦ imbrue the soul ♦ in his inward soul ♦ inmost soul ♦ keep body and soul together ♦ lay the flattering unction to one's soul ♦ life and soul ♦ life and soul of the party ♦ like a lost soul ♦ narrow soul ♦ noble soul ♦ not a bloody soul ♦ not a soul ♦ not dare to say one's soul is his own ♦ not dare to say one's soul is one's own ♦ penetrate the soul ♦ pervade the soul ♦ poor soul ♦ possess one's soul in peace ♦ possess the soul ♦ prostration of soul ♦ save one's soul ♦ sell one's soul to the devil ♦ Soul amplification ♦ soul bell ♦ soul brother ♦ soul city ♦ soul food ♦ soul foot ♦ soul heir ♦ soul kiss ♦ soul mate ♦ soul music ♦ Soul part integration ♦ Soul reading ♦ Soul retrieval ♦ soul scot ♦ soul searching ♦ soul shot ♦ soul sister ♦ the feast of reason and the flow of soul ♦ the iron entering into the soul ♦ the soul animates the body ♦ transmigration of the soul ♦ twin soul ♦ unburden smb.'s soul to smb. ♦ uplift soul ♦ with all one's heart and soul ♦ with heart and soul ♦ work with heart and soul. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "soul": soul-animating, soul-baring, soul-binding, soul-blaring, soul-blue, soul-bound, soul-boy, Soul-centered, soul-chilling, soul-cialism, soul-cialist, soul-cialists, soul-damning, soul-death, soul-deep, soul-destroyed, soul-destroying, soul-food, soul-friend, soul-friends, soul-funk, soul-house, soul-inspired, soul-less, soul-life, soul-lifting, soul-like, soul-loss, soul-man, soul-masses, soul-mate, soul-mates, soul-murder, soul-rap-house, soul-reggae, soul-sacrifice, soul-satisfying, soul-scarring, soul-searching, soul-searing, soul-selling, soul-sick, soul-sized, soul-so, soul-sound, soul-stilling, soul-stirring, soul-style, soul-uplifting, soul-winning, soul-wrenching. | |
Ending with "soul": pop-soul, world-soul. | |
Containing "soul": praise-my-soul-the-king-of-heaven-to-his-feet-thy-tribute. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
empty smile soul | 1,713 | circus soul universal | 251 |
soul calibur 2 | 1,421 | blessid union of soul | 250 |
soul food | 1,374 | body and soul | 224 |
collective soul | 1,246 | calibur ii soul | 212 |
soul calibur | 1,197 | yu gi oh eternal duelist soul | 207 |
soul music | 1,153 | cheat duelist eternal gi oh soul yu | 202 |
soul | 1,116 | triple 5 soul | 187 |
soul seek | 869 | well of soul | 185 |
soul food recipe | 752 | chicken soup for the teenage soul | 180 |
soul reaver | 633 | heart and soul | 164 |
soul mate | 631 | soul decision | 162 |
de la soul | 473 | soul coughing | 157 |
chicken soup for the soul | 470 | soul food on showtime | 147 |
empty lyrics smile soul | 413 | family kindred soul | 141 |
soul mates | 398 | 2 caliber soul | 137 |
the bouncing soul | 369 | neo soul | 137 |
soul reaver 2 | 318 | soul for real | 136 |
soul train | 280 | 2 reaver soul through walk | 132 |
triple five soul | 256 | duelist eternal soul yugioh | 129 |
soul asylum | 254 | soul circus | 128 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "soul"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | gees (fairy, ghost, intellect, mind, phantom, spirit), animo (activity, gusto, spirit, stir, zest). (various references) | |
Albanian | shpirt (animus, genius, heart, mind, psyche, spirit), xhan (beloved), thelb (backbone, burden, core, crux, essence, essentiality, gist, guts, heart, hinge, kernel, marrow, marrowbone, matter, nub, pith, point, substance, sum, tenor). (various references) | |
Arabic | روح (spirit), ملهم, مجرك, نفس روح (mind, psyche, respiration, spirit), قائد (chief, commandant, commander, head, leader, pacemaker, pacesetter, professor, skipper), ضمير (conscience, pronoun), جوهر (core, effect, essence, essential nature, gist, immanence, matter, pith, principle, quiddity, quintessence, root, substance, taproot), الروح (essence), روح محركة, روح (circulate, fan, ghost, life, pneuma, psyche, shade, spirit). (various references) | |
Basque | arima. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | човечец, дух (fetch, ghost, mettle, mind, morale, pecker, phantasm, presence, shade, spirit, spook, tone, visitant), душа (breast, ghost, heart, inside, lifeblood, mastermind, nature, nose, nuzzle, psyche, quest, scent, scrag, smell, smell about, smother, sniff, spirit, stifle, throttle), душица. (various references) | |
Chinese | 魄 , 魂 , 靈魂 (spirit), 灵魂, 神 (divine essence, God, lively, mysterious, spirit, spiritual being, unusual). (various references) | |
Czech | nitro (heart, interior), duch (apparition, esprit, ghost, gimp, mind, psyche, spectre, spirit, spook), duše (bladder, psyche, spirit). (various references) | |
Danish | vid (about, concerning, on, upon). (various references) | |
Dutch | ziel (punt, web, web of beam, web of rail, web thickness), gemoed, geest (fairy, ghost, intellect, mind, phantom, spirit). (various references) | |
Esperanto | animo. (various references) | |
Faeroese | sál (mind, psyche). (various references) | |
Finnish | sielu (mind). (various references) | |
French | âme. (various references) | |
Frisian | siel, geast (spirit, wit). (various references) | |
German | Seele (ghost, life and soul, psyche, spirit), Gemüt (character, disposition, feeling, heart, mind, nature, personality, spirit). (various references) | |
Greek | ψυχή (psyche, spirit). (various references) | |
Hebrew | נשמה (life, mind, psyche, spirit), נפש (breath, life, mind, person, psyche, respiration, spirit). (various references) | |
Hungarian | lélek (breast, censorship, conscience, critter, ghost, metal, mind, psyche, spirit), lakos (burgher, denizen, dweller, inhabitant, liver, resident), ember (bleeder, body, bully, chuff, coveter, crackajack, crackerjack, croaker, disturber, dread, galoot, gimp, gobbler, grampus, great card, human, human being, husky, Jack, john blunt, lush, man, maroon, men, milksop, mortal, namby-pamby, number, one, parvenu, person, pig, pushover, recluse, ribald, roisterer, scuz, scuzz, sleaze, smarty, snapper, spindle, square-shooter, squealer, to play a good knife and fork, Walla). (various references) | |
Indonesian | nyawa (spirit), jiwa (esprit, psyche), atma (breath), arwah (departed spirit). (various references) | |
Irish | anam. (various references) | |
Italian | soul (soul music), vivo (alive, bright, deep, lifelike, live, lively, living, living person, quick, racy, raw, sharp), anima (center, centre, core, ghost, heart, spirit). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 霊魂 (spirit), 魂胆 (intrigue, plot, scheme, secret design, ulterior motive), 魂 (spirit). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | せいこん (energy, marriage, spirit, vitality, wedding), ソウル (Seoul), れい (actor, case, cold, command, companion, cool, custom, departed soul, dictation, example, experience, expression of gratitude, ghost, illustration, instance, nought, order, parallel, precedent, spirit, usage, zero), れいこん (spirit), こん (deep blue, navy blue, now, spirit, this), こんぱく (ghost, spirit), じんえい (camp, man's shadow), せいれい (cabinet order, diligence, ghost, government ordinance, industry, regulations, spirit, the holy ghost), たましい (spirit), せいしん (celestial bodies, fresh, heart, intention, mind, new, sincerity, spirit, stars), ひとかげ (man's shadow, salamander), きはく (diluted, drive, lean, rarefied, rarified, sparse, spirit, thin, vigor, weak), しんずい (core, essence, kernel, life blood, mystery, quintessence, true meaning), きこつ (backbone, eccentric, grit, skin and bones, spirit), たま (ball, bullet, coin, globe, shell, shot, sphere, spirit), こんたん (intrigue, plot, scheme, secret design, ulterior motive). (various references) | |
Korean | 넋. (various references) | |
Manx | annym [f] (psyche, spirit), annym (psyche, spirit). (various references) | |
Occitan | arma. (various references) | |
Papiamen | alma. ( |
