8. One who is vivacious or lively; one who evinces great activity or peculiar characteristics of mind or temper; as, a ruling spirit; a schismatic spirit. Such spirits as he desired to please, such would I choose for my judges. Dryden.
9. Temper or disposition of mind; mental condition or disposition; intellectual or moral state; — often in the plural; as, to be cheerful, or in good spirits; to be downhearted, or in bad spirits. God has . . . made a spirit of building succeed a spirit of pulling down. South. A perfect judge will read each work of wit With the same spirit that its author writ. Pope.
10. Intent; real meaning; — opposed to the letter, or to formal statement; also, characteristic quality, especially such as is derived from the individual genius or the personal character; as, the spirit of an enterprise, of a document, or the like.
11. Tenuous, volatile, airy, or vapory substance, possessed of active qualities. All bodies have spirits . . . within them. Bacon.
12. Any liquid produced by distillation; especially, alcohol, the spirits, or spirit, of wine (it having been first distilled from wine): — often in the plural.
13. pl.
Defn: Rum, whisky, brandy, gin, and other distilled liquors having much alcohol, in distinction from wine and malt liquors.
14. (Med.)
Defn: A solution in alcohol of a volatile principle. Cf. Tincture. U.
S. Disp.
15. (Alchemy)