soul
noun (a soul, souls; soul — music)
Everyday
- (religion) The soul is the part of a person that many religions believe is spiritual, lives on after death, and is the real "you" — your mind, feelings and spirit. tree →
- A soul is a person, as in "not a soul was there" (nobody) or "poor soul" (a person to feel sorry for). tree →
- Soul is deep feeling or warmth in music, art or speech: "She sings with soul." tree →
- Soul music is a style of African American music with gospel roots. tree →
- To have a soul for something means to have a deep love for it and a natural gift for it. tree →
In the lessons
In RE, Christians believe each person has a soul made by God; other faiths and humanists see it differently. In stories "heart and soul" means with all your energy. Phrases: body and soul, heart and soul, not a soul, poor soul, soul mate, soul food, bless his soul.
Examples
- Many people believe the soul lives on after death. tree →
- There wasn't a soul in the park at night. tree →
- The old dog was a gentle soul. tree →
- She put her heart and soul into the painting. tree →
- Poor soul, he lost his umbrella in the storm. tree →
- Grandma loves soul music. tree →
- "God rest his soul," said Nan at the funeral. tree →
- You have a soul for poetry. tree →
Note
Countable. Homophone: sole (a fish, or the bottom of your foot or shoe, or "only": the sole survivor). "Not a soul" means "no one" — it is not about religion there.
In Jewish tradition
In the Psalms people speak to their own soul, as in "Bless the LORD, O my soul", and the soul can feel despair when God seems far away.
Interpretation. Tradition teaches that the soul is a gift from God, and later writings speak of several levels of soul, with the soul returning to God after death. The last verse of Psalms is read as saying every soul should praise God.
Examples
- And I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. (Torah LEV.26.11, JPS 1917) tree →
- Arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.' (Torah GEN.27.19, JPS 1917) tree →
- And Hamor spoke with them, saying 'The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter. (Torah GEN.34.8, JPS 1917) tree →
- Bless the LORD, O my soul. (Writings PSA.104.1, JPS 1917) tree →
- Praise the LORD, O my soul. (Writings PSA.146.1, JPS 1917) tree →
- LORD, why castest Thou off my soul? (Writings PSA.88.15, JPS 1917) tree →
Note
Countable. Homophone: sole (a fish, or the bottom of your foot or shoe, or "only": the sole survivor). "Not a soul" means "no one" — it is not about religion there.
Early Modern English
Meaning
The whole living person or creature; the self. tree →
Then and now
Today soul usually means the spirit inside a person, which may live on after death, or deep feeling. In Leviticus "my soul" means I myself, and "soul" means a living person; the poetry sentence uses today's sense.
Examples
- And I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. (Torah LEV.26.11, JPS 1917) tree →
- You have a soul for poetry. (Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen) tree →
- On another, it refers to something less tangible, approaching the kind of phantom essence implied by the English term ‘soul’. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) tree →
Note
Today: person, living being.
On Mova
- Trees and pragmatics of «soul» in the school dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- «soul» in the school dictionary on Mova free.
- Trees and pragmatics of «soul» in the Judaism dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- «soul» in the Judaism dictionary on Mova free.
- Trees and pragmatics of «soul» in the Early Modern English dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- «soul» in the Early Modern English dictionary on Mova free.
This page in Markdown → https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/soul/