dying gasp

English

Noun

dying gasp (plural dying gasps)

1. The last breath taken before death.
2. (figurative) The last moments, or final period, of something that becomes obsolete or inactive.
   • 1951, IBM Corp., Proceedings, Computation Seminar, page 13:

     To replace logarithmic tables with natural tables required some time. This seems like a modern age, yet I am not an octogenarian and I can remember the dying gasp of the logarithmic table as the standard method of computation. I have seen the desk calculator become a necessary instrument for every scientist who is doing quantitative work.

Translations

the last breath taken before death

• Maori: tuamatangi, manawa kiore