Wordwyrt

pusillanimous

/pjuːsəˈlænəməs/pyoo-suh-LA-nuh-muhs
/pjusəˈlænəməs/pyoo-suh-LA-nuh-muhs

Meaningvery small of spirit

Common meaning: timid, lacking courage

‘very small, tiny’ + ‘the breath of life’ → pusillanimous

Journey through time

pusill Latin pusillus “very small, tiny”
  1. Latinpusillussource
anim Latin anima, -ae / animus, -ī “the breath of life; soul”
  1. Latinanimussource

Parts join in Late Latin as pusillanimis.

  1. Late Latinpusillanimis‘faint-hearted’source
  2. Englishpusillanimous‘timid, lacking courage’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin pusillus ‘very small, tiny’ and Latin anima ‘the breath of life’.

Roots

Related words

animateanimatedanimationanimatorinanimatemagnanimousmagnanimously

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