Rūḥānī
/ruːˈħaːniː/noun
Relating to the spirit, spirituality, or the unseen spiritual realm, especially in Islamic and South Asian usage.
Did you know?Rūḥānī derives from Arabic rūḥ, a word that can mean both “spirit” and “breath,” linking the unseen soul with the act of breathing.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*rūḥ-
“Breath, wind, or animating spirit”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
rūḥ
“Spirit, soul, breath, or wind”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
rūḥānī
“Spiritual; belonging to the spirit”
Medieval Persian
Persian
rūḥānī
“Spiritual, mystical, or related to the unseen”
Medieval Urdu
Urdu
rūḥānī
“Spiritual; soulful; associated with religious or occult knowledge”
Modern English
English
ruhani / rohani
“A loanword referring to spirituality or the spiritual realm”
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