soul
noun
Soul — a human being, named for what is thought to outlast the body
Definition
A human being; "there was too much for one person to do"
In depth
A soul, used to mean a person, treats human identity as inseparable from the spiritual or essential self thought to survive the body's death — to count souls is, in this older usage, simply to count people, but the word never fully sheds its religious and philosophical resonance. It can describe a single individual with unusual tenderness, or an entire population with unexpected gravity.
Origin
The word comes from Old English sawol, related to other Germanic words for the spiritual or vital principle thought to animate the body. Its extended use to mean simply 'person,' as in census records or hymns, reflects a long Christian tradition in which every individual was first and foremost understood as a soul, the body being merely its temporary vessel.
Usage examples
"The census recorded three hundred souls in the village, though half had left by the following winter."
"Not a soul stirred in the house after midnight."
"She thought of him as a kindred soul, someone who understood without needing to be told."
How to use it
Soul is a word of considerable literary warmth, well suited to elegy, intimate description, and any prose that wants to register a person's worth or interiority rather than their mere physical fact. It works especially well in older or formal counting contexts, as in 'not a soul in sight.'
Related concepts
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