I got "a wisp of smoke" in a book. And I don't understand that with the meaning given here. Is there another meaning missing? Kipmaster 10:15, 26 February 2006 (UTC)
Maybe I am wrong, but I'm not sure about the current 4th definition: "An immeasurable, indefinable essence of life; soul."
In the example ("…humans have a non-physical soul, one that inhabits the body but is distinct from it, an ethereal ghostly wisp that floats free at death…"), I think it's being used closer to the 1st definition, like a wisp of smoke, though maybe it doesn't fit perfectly with current wording ("A small bundle, as of straw or other like substance; any slender, flexible structure or group.")
I don't really think wisp can be substituted for soul/life-essence except when set up by context through a metaphor. Pythagimedes (talk) 21:49, 30 November 2023 (UTC)