ANIMATE

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Latin animatus, past participle of animare to give life to, from anima breath, soul; akin to Old English ōthian to breathe, Latin animus spirit, Greek anemos wind, Sanskrit aniti he breathes Date: 15th century possessing or characterized by life ; alive , full of life ; ~d , of or relating to animal life as opposed to plant life, referring to a living thing , ~ly adverb ~ness noun II. transitive verb (-mated; -mating) Date: 15th century to give spirit and support to ; encourage , 2. to give life to, to give vigor and zest to, to move to action , 4. to make or design in such a way as to create apparently spontaneous lifelike movement , to produce in the form of an ~d cartoon , see: quicken