Something that animates or gives life and movement to something else; an animating force or agent.
From Latin animans, present participle of animare (to animate, to give life). The -ant suffix (from Latin -ans/-antis) forms nouns and adjectives indicating the agent or doer of an action, as in 'student' or 'servant'.
The word 'animant' is rarely used in modern English, but it was important in early philosophy and theology where scholars debated what 'animant' force gave life to humans and animals—was it a soul, breath, spirit, or something else?
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