[spir.i.tu.al] adj [ME, fr. MF & LL; MF spirituel, fr. LL spiritualis, fr. L, of breathing, of wind, fr. spiritus] (14c) 1: of, relating to, consisting of, or affecting the spirit: incorporeal "man's ~ needs"
2. a: of or relating to sacred matters "~ songs" b: ecclesiastical rather than lay or temporal "~ authority" "lords ~"
3: concerned with religious values
4: related or joined in spirit "our ~ home" "his ~ heir"
5. a: of or relating to supernatural beings or phenomena b: of, relating to, or involving spiritualism: spiritualistic -- spir.i.tu.al.ly adv -- spir.i.tu.al.ness n
[2]spiritual n (1582) 1 pl: things of a spiritual, ecclesiastical, or religious nature
2: a religious song usu. of a deeply emotional character that was developed esp. among blacks in the southern U.S. 3 cap: any of a party of 13th and 14th century Franciscans advocating strict observance of a rule of poverty for their order