pneuma

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek πνεῦμα (pneûma, “wind, breath, spirit”), from πνέω (pnéō, “I blow, breathe”). Doublet of neume.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnjuːmə/

Noun

pneuma (plural pneumas or pneumata)

1. (music) A neume.
   • 1922, James Joyce, Ulysses:

     With swaying arms they wail in pneuma over the recreant Bloom.

2. The spirit or soul.
3. (Gnosticism) One of three levels of a human being, the spirit, along with the body and soul.

Derived terms

• pneumatic

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Spanish

Noun

pneuma m (plural pneumas)

1. Obsolete form of neuma.

Further reading

• “pneuma”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014