vitality

English

Etymology

From vital +‎ -ity, from Middle French vitalité, from Latin vitalitas (“vital force, life”), from vitalis (“vital”); see vital.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vaɪˈtælɪti/, /vaɪˈtæləti/, (now rare) /vɪ-/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Noun

vitality (countable and uncountable, plural vitalities)

1. The capacity to live and develop.
2. Energy or vigour.

   Synonyms: vital force, life force

   youthful vitality

   full of vitality

   economic vitality

   The city’s cultural vitality impressed the visitors.

   He maintained his vitality well into old age.

3. That which distinguishes living from nonliving things; life, animateness.

   Synonyms: vital force, life force

Related terms

• devive
• revive
• survive
• viable
• vim and vigor
• vis viva
• vital
• vitalism
• vivid

Translations

the capacity to live and develop

• Bulgarian: жизнеспосо́бност (bg) f (žiznesposóbnost)
• Catalan: vitalitat (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 生命力 (zh) (shēngmìnglì)

• Finnish: elinvoima (fi)
• Galician: vitalidade (gl) f
• Georgian: სიცოცხლისუნარიანობა (sicocxlisunarianoba), ცხოველუნარიანობა (cxovelunarianoba), ცხოველმოსილება (cxovelmosileba)
• Japanese: 生命力 (ja) (せいめいりょく, seimeiryoku)
• Korean: 생명력 (ko) (saengmyeongnyeok)
• Middle English: quyknesse
• Norwegian: levedyktighet
• Portuguese: vitalidade (pt) f
• Russian: жизнеспосо́бность (ru) f (žiznesposóbnostʹ), жи́зненность (ru) f (žíznennostʹ), жизнесто́йкость (ru) f (žiznestójkostʹ), живу́честь (ru) f (živúčestʹ)
• Spanish: vitalidad (es) f

energy or vigour

• Bulgarian: жизненост (bg) f (žiznenost), енергичност (bg) f (energičnost)
• Catalan: vitalitat (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 生命力 (zh) (shēngmìnglì)

• Czech: vitalita (cs) f
• Finnish: elinvoima (fi), eloisuus (fi), vireys (fi), puhti (fi)
• French: vitalité (fr) f
• Galician: vitalidade (gl) f
• Georgian: სიცხოველე (sicxovele)
• German: Vitalität (de) f, Lebenskraft (de) f
• Greek: ζωντάνια (el) (zontánia)
• Hindi: जीवंतता (hi) f (jīvanttā)
• Irish: beogacht f, anamúlacht f
• Japanese: 精 (ja) (せい, sei), 生命力 (ja) (せいめいりょく, seimeiryoku)
• Korean: 생명력 (ko) (saengmyeongnyeok)
• Latin: vītālitās f
• Māori: hau (mi), korou, hiringa, riaka, hōriri
• Norwegian: livskraft
• Portuguese: vitalidade (pt) f
• Russian: жи́вость (ru) f (žívostʹ), энерги́чность (ru) f (enɛrgíčnostʹ)
• Sanskrit: वर्चस् (sa) n (varcas)
• Spanish: vitalidad (es) f

that which distinguishes living from nonliving things

• Catalan: vitalitat (ca) f
• Esperanto: viveco
• Finnish: elinvoima (fi)
• Latin: vītālitās f

Further reading

• “vitality”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “vitality”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.