the word "animism" is based on the word "anima" from latin. "anima" means breath, life, or spirit. however, these are english words. the ideas of animism are often not from people who speak english. this means there is not one definition of spirit. the definitions are different in different animist groups. the following definitions are from the internet encyclopedia of philosophy. some groups believe that nature moves and interacts because of the spirit in things. other groups believe that nature has more than just a spirit of movement. they believe that spirits in nature are persons like humans are persons. they believe that persons of nature can have a "social relationship" with other persons. other groups believe that the persons of nature are dead relatives of humans who are alive. still other groups believe that a single plant or animal may be many spirits in one. they believe that existence, movements, and more are each a separate spirit. in summary, not all animists define "spirit" the same way, but animists do believe similar things. they believe there is a spirit in many things which are not humans. they believe these spirits are why things that are not human move and interact.