The word “enthusiasm” has a surprisingly intense—and almost mystical—origin.
It comes from the Greek:
- Ancient Greek enthousiasmos (ἐνθουσιασμός)
- From entheos (ἔνθεος) → “possessed by a god”
- en = “in”
- theos = “god”
So the original meaning of enthusiasm wasn’t just “excitement” or “passion.”
It literally meant:
to be filled with a divine force — to have a god inside you.