exanimate

English

WOTD – 26 September 2011

Etymology

See ex- and Latin animus (“soul, life”).

Pronunciation

Adjective

• IPA^(key): /ɪɡˈzænɪmɪt/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Verb

• IPA^(key): /ɪɡˈzænɪmeɪt/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Adjective

exanimate (comparative more exanimate, superlative most exanimate)

1. Lifeless, not or no longer living, dead.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 7:

     carckasses exanimate

2. Spiritless, dispirited, disheartened, not lively.
   • a. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Spring”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC:

     Pale […] wretch, exanimate by love.

Synonyms

• (dispirited): dejected

Translations

lifeless; dead

• Armenian: անկենդան (hy) (ankendan), անկյանք (hy) (ankyankʻ), մեռած (hy) (meṙac), անշունչ (hy) (anšunčʻ)

  Old Armenian: անշունչ (anšunčʻ), մեռեալ (meṙeal), անկենդան (ankendan)

• Bulgarian: безжизнен (bg) (bezžiznen)
• Danish: livløs, død (da)
• Dutch: levenloos (nl), levensloos (nl), dood (nl), doods (nl), ontzield (nl)
• Finnish: hengetön (fi), eloton (fi)
• French: sans vie (fr), mort (fr)
• German: leblos (de), tot (de), entseelt
• Italian: morto (it), privo di vita (it)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: livløs, livlaus, død (no)

  Nynorsk: livlaus, død

• Portuguese: exânime
• Russian: бездыха́нный (ru) (bezdyxánnyj), мёртвый (ru) (mjórtvyj)
• Spanish: exánime (es), inanimado (es)
• Swedish: livlös (sv)

spiritless, dispirited, disheartened, not lively

• Armenian: վհատ (hy) (vhat), ընկճված (hy) (ənkčvac)

  Old Armenian: սրտաթափ (srtatʻapʻ), ոգեսպառ (ogespaṙ), պակուցեալ (pakucʻeal)

• Bulgarian: вял (bg) (vjal), обезсърчен (bg) (obezsǎrčen)
• Dutch: lusteloos (nl), mat (nl)
• Finnish: hengetön (fi)
• French: déprimé (fr), découragé (fr)
• German: lustlos (de)
• Italian: esanime (it), inanimato (it)
• Portuguese: desanimado (pt)
• Russian: безжи́зненный (ru) (bezžíznennyj), вя́лый (ru) (vjályj), сла́бый (ru) (slábyj), ту́склый (ru) (túsklyj)
• Spanish: desanimado (es)

Verb

exanimate (third-person singular simple present exanimates, present participle exanimating, simple past and past participle exanimated)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To deprive of animation or of life.

Anagrams

• examinate, metaxenia

Latin

Verb

exanimāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of exanimō