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usually uncountable, plural animacies
(linguistics) In some languages, the characteristic of a noun, dependent on its living or sentient nature, which affects grammatical features (it can modify verbs used with the noun, affect the noun's declension, etc.). examples
(biology) The state of being alive. quotations
These may differ radically in their linguistic animacy, as briefly discussed above, without this having any consequences for their biological animacy.
2011, Seppo Kittilä, Katya Västi, Jussi Ylikoski, Case, Animacy and Semantic Roles, page 6