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Soul   /soʊl/   Listen
noun
Soul  n.  
1.
The spiritual, rational, and immortal part in man; that part of man which enables him to think, and which renders him a subject of moral government; sometimes, in distinction from the higher nature, or spirit, of man, the so-called animal soul, that is, the seat of life, the sensitive affections and phantasy, exclusive of the voluntary and rational powers; sometimes, in distinction from the mind, the moral and emotional part of man's nature, the seat of feeling, in distinction from intellect; sometimes, the intellect only; the understanding; the seat of knowledge, as distinguished from feeling. In a more general sense, "an animating, separable, surviving entity, the vehicle of individual personal existence." "The eyes of our souls only then begin to see, when our bodily eyes are closing."
2.
The seat of real life or vitality; the source of action; the animating or essential part. "The hidden soul of harmony." "Thou sun, of this great world both eye and soul."
3.
The leader; the inspirer; the moving spirit; the heart; as, the soul of an enterprise; an able general is the soul of his army. "He is the very soul of bounty!"
4.
Energy; courage; spirit; fervor; affection, or any other noble manifestation of the heart or moral nature; inherent power or goodness. "That he wants algebra he must confess; But not a soul to give our arms success."
5.
A human being; a person; a familiar appellation, usually with a qualifying epithet; as, poor soul. "As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." "God forbid so many simple souls Should perish by the sword!" "Now mistress Gilpin (careful soul)."
6.
A pure or disembodied spirit. "That to his only Son... every soul in heaven Shall bend the knee."
7.
A perceived shared community and awareness among African-Americans.
8.
Soul music. Note: Soul is used in the formation of numerous compounds, most of which are of obvious signification; as, soul-betraying, soul-consuming, soul-destroying, soul-distracting, soul-enfeebling, soul-exalting, soul-felt, soul-harrowing, soul-piercing, soul-quickening, soul-reviving, soul-stirring, soul-subduing, soul-withering, etc.
Synonyms: Spirit; life; courage; fire; ardor.
Cure of souls. See Cure, n., 2.
Soul bell, the passing bell.
Soul foot. See Soul scot, below. (Obs.)
Soul scot or
Soul shot. (O. Eccl. Law) A funeral duty paid in former times for a requiem for the soul.



verb
Soul  v. t.  To indue with a soul; to furnish with a soul or mind. (Obs.)



Soul  v. i.  To afford suitable sustenance. (Obs.)



adjective
Soul  adj.  Sole. (Obs.)



soul  adj.  By or for African-Americans, or characteristic of their culture; as, soul music; soul newspapers; soul food.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Soul" Quotes from Famous Books



... fell upon the small room. Outside could be heard the pound and thrash of the surf and the moan of the gale; no human voice—men and women were talking in whispers. One soul had gone to God and another life ...
— The Tides of Barnegat • F. Hopkinson Smith

... that the highest use of the voice is the revelation of the soul. The most important and effective means of cultivation lie in the exercise of the voice under such mental conditions as shall invite the expression of the highest thoughts, but the voice is in one sense an instrument which ...
— Expressive Voice Culture - Including the Emerson System • Jessie Eldridge Southwick

... of ecstasy takes a different form. The aim is to attain absolute vacuity of mind and thus complete union with the Absolute. When attained, the soul becomes conscious of blissful superiority to all the concerns of this mundane life, a foretaste of the Nirvana awaiting those who shall attain to Buddhahood. The actual attainment of this experience is practically limited to the ...
— Evolution Of The Japanese, Social And Psychic • Sidney L. Gulick

... love, the thirst for happiness, nothing more!' broke in Shubin. 'I, too, know those notes, I know the languor and the expectation which come upon the soul in the forest's shade, in its deep recesses, or at evening in the open fields when the sun sets and the river mist rises behind the bushes. But forest, and river, and fields, and sky, every cloud and every blade of grass sets me expecting, hoping for happiness, ...
— On the Eve • Ivan Turgenev

... have any soul, as their masters believe, he was quite right. There were outcries and clamours, sobs and bursts of chattering laughter, silences where the trained ear yearned for the clear note, and torturing reduplications where there should have been ...
— The Day's Work, Volume 1 • Rudyard Kipling


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