pneuma

From Ancient Greek πνεῦμα (pneûma, “wind, breath, spirit”), from πνέω (pnéō, “I blow, breathe”). Doublet of neume.

• IPA^(key): /ˈnjuːmə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːmə

pneuma (plural pneumas or pneumata)

1. (music) A neume.
   • 1922, James Joyce, Ulysses:

     With swaying arms they wail in pneuma over the recreant Bloom.

2. The spirit or soul.
   • 2019, Maynard Keenan James, “Pneuma”, in Fear Inoculum‎^[1], performed by Tool:

     But bound to reach out and beyond this flesh. / Become Pneuma

3. (Gnosticism) One of three levels of a human being, the spirit, along with the body and soul.

• IPA^(key): /ˈneuma/ [ˈneu̯.ma]
• Rhymes: -euma
• Syllabification: pneu‧ma

pneuma m (plural pneumas)

1. alternative form of neuma; pneuma

• “pneuma”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• Manuel Seco; Olimpia Andrés; Gabino Ramos (3 August 2023), “pneuma”, in Diccionario del español actual [Dictionary of Current Spanish] (in Spanish), third digital edition, Fundación BBVA [BBVA Foundation]