spirit

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A force or principle believed to animate living beings.
• noun A force or principle believed to animate humans and often to endure after departing from the body of a person at death; the soul.
• noun The Holy Spirit.
• noun A supernatural being, as.
• noun An angel or demon.
• noun A being inhabiting or embodying a particular place, object, or natural phenomenon.
• noun A fairy or sprite.
• noun The part of a human associated with the mind, will, and feelings.
• noun The essential nature of a person or group.
• noun A person as characterized by a stated quality.
• noun An inclination or tendency of a specified kind.
• noun A pervasive or essential attitude, quality, or principle.
• noun An attitude marked by enthusiasm, energy, or courage.
• noun A mood or emotional state.
• noun Strong loyalty or dedication.
• noun The actual though unstated sense or significance of something.
• noun An alcohol solution of an essential or volatile substance.
• noun An alcoholic beverage, especially distilled liquor.
• transitive verb To carry off mysteriously or secretly.
• transitive verb To impart courage, animation, or determination to; inspirit.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To animate; inspire; inspirit; excite; encourage; enliven; cheer: sometimes with up.
• To convey away rapidly and secretly, as if by the agency of a spirit; kidnap: generally with off, away, or other adverb of direction.
• To treat with spirits.
• noun One of an officially recognized class of pharmaceutical preparations, formerly made by distilling with alcohol a crude drug containing some volatile and medicinally useful ingredient, but now frequently by direct solution in alcohol of this ingredient, such as a volatile oil or essence, previously obtained in separate form. Spirit of cinnamon is an example.
• noun According to old and primitive modes of thought, an invisible corporeal thing of an airy nature, scarcely material, the principle of life, mediating between soul and body.
• noun The principle of life conceived as a fragment of the divine essence breathed into man by God.
• noun Metaphorically, animation; vivacity; exuberance of life; cheerfulness; courage; mettle; temper; humor; mood: usually in the plural.
• noun A peculiar animating and inspiring principle; dominant influence; genius; that which pervades and tempers the conduct and thought of men, either singly or (especially) in bodies, and characterizes them or their works.
• noun The essence, real meaning, or intent of any statement, command, or contract: opposed to letter.
• noun Incorporeal, immaterial being or principle; personality, or a personality, unconnected or only associated with a body: in Biblical use applied to God, and specifically to the third person of the Trinity (the Holy Spirit); also to supernatural good and evil beings (angels).
• noun A person considered with respect to his peculiar characteristics of mind or temper, especially as shown in action; a man of life, fire, energy, enterprise, courage, or the like, who influences or dominates: as, the leading spirits of the movement were arrested.
• noun A disembodied soul, or a soul naturally destitute of an ordinary solid body; an apparition of such a being; a specter; a ghost.
• noun A supernatural being; an angel, fairy, elf, sprite, demon, or the like.
• noun A subtle fluid contained in a particular substance, and conferring upon it its peculiar properties.
• noun In old chemistry, a liquor obtained by distillation; often in the plural.
• noun A strong alcoholic liquor; in a restricted sense, such a liquor variously treated in the process of distillation, and used as a beverage or medicinally, as brandy, whisky, and gin; in the plural, any strong distilled liquor.
• noun A solution of tin in an acid, used in dyeing.
• noun An aspirate; a breathing, as the letter h.
• noun The essence or active principle of anything.
• noun In mod. German philos., the highest mode of existence; also, anything possessing such existence.
• noun By inspiration; by or under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
• noun Synonyms Life, Liveliness, etc. (see animation), force, resolution.
• noun 4. Drift, gist, sense, significance, nature.
• noun Soul, Intellect, etc. (see mind); inner self, vital essence.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• transitive verb To animate with vigor; to excite; to encourage; to inspirit; ; -- sometimes followed by up.
• transitive verb To convey rapidly and secretly, or mysteriously, as if by the agency of a spirit; to kidnap; -- often with away, or off.