zoism

English

Etymology

Derived from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Ancient Greek.

Noun

zoism (uncountable)

1. (dated) Reverence for animal life or belief in animal powers and influences, as among primitive groups.
2. (dated) A former doctrine claiming that the phenomena of life are due to a peculiar vital principle; the theory of vital force.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “zoism”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)