I. ˈspirə̇ch(ə)wəl, -chəl sometimes -rēch- adjective
Etymology: Middle English spirituel, spiritual, from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle French spirituel, from Medieval Latin spiritualis, alteration (influenced by Latin spiritus spirit) of Late Latin spiritalis, from Latin, of breathing, of wind, from spiritus spirit, breath + -alis -al — more at spirit
1. : of, relating to, or consisting of spirit : of the nature of spirit rather than material : incorporeal — contrasted with earthy
2.
a. : of or relating to religious or sacred matters
spiritual leaders
b. : sacred
spiritual songs
c. : ecclesiastical rather than lay or temporal
lords spiritual and temporal
eight members, four spiritual and four lay
3. : of or relating to the moral feelings or states of the soul as distinguished from the external actions : reaching and affecting the spirit
4.
a. : influenced or controlled by the divine Spirit : having a nature in which a concern for the Spirit of God predominates
spiritual man
b. : proceeding from or under the influence of the Holy Spirit : concerned with religious values : seeking earnestly to live in a right relation to God
a spiritual Christian
c. : holy , divine
to become spiritual and perfected
d. : religious
Islam's spiritual foundations
5. : related or joined in spirit : spiritually akin : having a relationship one to another based on matters of the spirit
her spiritual home
regarded her pastor as her spiritual father
came to believe himself the spiritual heir of the French poet — Allen Tate
6. archaic : consisting of spirit : alcoholic , spirituous 3
7. : of, relating to, or coming from the intellectual and higher endowments of the mind : intellectual , mental — contrasted with animal
8. : highly refined in thought or feeling
9. : spirited , clever , witty
10. : having to do with spirits, ghosts, or similar supernatural beings or with the world which they are held to people
11. : spiritualistic
II. noun
( -s )
1. spirituals plural : things (as functions, offices, affairs, matters, or possessions) of a spiritual, ecclesiastical, or religious nature
assigns supremacy to the pope in spirituals and to the emperor in temporals — J.R.Lowell
2. : a Negro religious song especially of the southern United States distinguished by the graphic narrative method characteristic of the folk ballad and by strongly marked rhythm that is frequently emphasized in singing by swaying or other motions