Brewer's: Animosity

means animation, spirit, as the fire of a horse, called in Latin equi animositas. Its present exclusive use in a bad sense is an instance of the tendency which words originally neutral have to assume a bad meaning. (Compare churl, villain.)

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language