Spanish Word of the Day: Alma (soul)

The word alma comes from the Latin word anima, meaning soul or spirit. The Latin anima comes from the Greek ἄνεμος (ánemos), meaning ‘gust/gale/wind.’ (In Latin, anima was used in the sense of “breath of life.”)

The word alma is grammatically feminine in Spanish, so you would expect it to use the article la (feminine article). However, Spanish has a phonetic rule that affects how articles are used with singular feminine nouns that begin with a stressed a.

When you say la alma, the repetition of two consecutive strong a sounds creates a harsh or awkward effect called cacofonía. To prevent this, Spanish replaces la with el in these cases, leading to a smoother transition between words and a better phonetic flow.

This rule also applies to other feminine nouns starting with a stressed a like agua (water) and águila (eagle), which become el agua and el águila.

It is important to note that this only applies to the singular form; in the plural, the regular feminine article is used: las almas, las aguas, etc.

• el alma = the soul
• un alma = a soul
• las almas = the souls
• unas almas = some souls

Interesting fact:

In Spanish, the Latin word ánima is still used in certain religious and folkloric contexts to refer to lost souls or wandering spirits. Expressions like ánimas del purgatorio (souls in purgatory) and ánimas en pena (souls in sorrow) are still widely used today by Catholics and in popular culture.

The basic meaning of alma is soul in a more spiritual sense, referring to the immaterial, eternal part of a person that is believed to live on after death in many religious and philosophical traditions. The alma is often seen as the esencia (essence) of an individual’s identity, consciousness, and morality.

However, the word is also used metaphorically in everyday language to express deep emotions, passion or heart; here are some examples of this:

• amar con el alma = to truly love
• amigo del alma = dearest friend
• agradecer con el alma = to thank with the whole heart
• doler en el alma = to hurt deeply
• poner el alma = to put the heart and soul into something

Did you know that…?

In Spanish, alma mater is used the same way as in English, referring to the school, college, or university that one attended, especially the institution from which one graduated. It comes from the feminine form of the adjective almus, which means nourishing. So alma mater means nourishing mother. This was originally taken from the motto of the University of Bologna (Alma Mater Studiorum / Nourishing Mother of Studies) as a figurative way to refer to universities in general.

Spanish idioms featuring ‘alma’