Offered without prejudice

[Thadeus]

As I believe I've mentioned previously, I get A Word A Day delivered to me via e-mail. Today's word is animus. Three definitions were offered.

animus (AN-uh-muhs) noun
1. Hostility; ill will.
2. Purpose; disposition; governing spirit.
3. In Jungian psychology, the masculine part of a woman's personal unconscious.

I don't believe most people think of Jung when they hear the word, so let's set that definition aside for this question.

My question involves the 2nd definition. Can someone offer me more on this, such as a sentence where it is used in such a way? Whenever I have read the word in the past it has always referred to the first definition... Am I alone in this?

The odd thing is that Merriam-Webster offers the same three definitions, but in this order (edited for brevity):

1 : basic attitude or governing spirit
2 : a usually prejudiced and often spiteful or malevolent ill will
3 : an inner masculine part of the female personality in the analytic psychology of C. G. Jung

This order would indicate to me that the first definition is the most common... again, maybe only me.

~Thadeus

 

[CajunCenturion]

I know you want to discount the 3^rd definition, but there really is no need to.

Animus comes from the latin word 'animus' which refers to the soul, the spirit, the mind, or even a disposition. It is as much a concept as it is a specific. It is also the root of unanimous (un [one] animus [mind])

Jung referred to the 'animus' (male form) as the masculine part of the female mind, and also 'anima' (female form) as the feminine part of the male mind.

The negative aspect probably comes from a similar word, animosity, which is from Latin 'animositatem', which is a boldness of the mind, again using animus.

The second definition can be found in legal terms, as from the phrase 'Animus contrahendi' which means the intention to enter into a contractual relationship, a meeting of the minds so to speak.

Good Luck
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