Spiritually

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Connected to matters of the soul, inner life, or religious faith rather than physical or material concerns
2. Relating to the non-physical aspects of existence, including the soul, personal beliefs, and the quest for meaning, as opposed to material realities
3. Pertaining to the realm of faith, inner consciousness, and soulful experiences rather than tangible, material elements

Etymology: Spiritually is a plain derivation: the adjective "spiritual" with the adverbial ending "-ly" added. That ending traces back through Middle English "-ly" and Old English "-līċe" to a Proto-Germanic root meaning "body" or "form" (a sense it preserves in "like" and "-ly" words generally), so "spiritually" literally means "in a spiritual manner." The adjective itself came into English from Late Latin "spīrituālis," formed from "spīritus," "breath" or "spirit," which is itself rooted in the Latin verb "spīrāre," to breathe. The adjective passed into English through Old French "spirituel" and reached Middle English as "spiritual," so the word's core idea is literally breath. A soul or spirit was once imagined as the breath of life, which explains why the notion of inner life became attached to a word originally about breathing.

Synonyms: religiously, metaphysically, ethereally

Antonyms: materially, physically