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The word "animal"
The word "animal" comes from the Latin word animale, neuter of animalis, and is derived from anima, meaning vital breath or soul. In everyday colloquial usage, the word usually refers to non-human animals.Frequently fish and insects are excluded from colloquial use of the word as well. The biological definition of the word refers to all members of the Kingdom Animalia including humans.

Animals characteristics
Some animals characteristics that set them apart from other living things. Animals are eukaryotic and are multicellular (although see Myxozoa), which separates them from bacteria and most protists. They are heterotrophic, generally digesting food in an internal chamber, which separates them from plants and algae (some sponges are capable of photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation though). They are also distinguished from plants, algae, and fungi by lacking rigid cell walls. All animals are motile, if only at certain life stages. In most animals, embryos pass through a blastula stage, which is a characteristic exclusive to animals.