breathe
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English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English brethen (“to breathe, blow, exhale, odour”), derived from Middle English breth (“breath”). Eclipsed Middle English ethien and orðiæn, from Old English ēþian and orþian (“to breathe”); as well as Middle English anden, onden, from Old Norse anda (“to breathe”). More at breath.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: brēth, IPA(key): /bɹiːð/
- (General American) IPA(key): /bɹið/
Audio (General American): (file) - Rhymes: -iːð
Verb
[edit]breathe (third-person singular simple present breathes, present participle breathing, simple past and past participle breathed)
- (intransitive) To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases.
- (intransitive) To take in needed gases and expel waste gases in a similar way.
- Fish have gills so they can breathe underwater.
- (transitive) To inhale (a gas) to sustain life.
- While life as we know it depends on oxygen, scientists have speculated that alien life forms might breathe chlorine or methane.
- (intransitive, figurative) To live.
- I will not allow it, as long as I still breathe.
- 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
- I am in health, I breathe.
- 1805, Walter Scott, “(please specify the page)”, in The Lay of the Last Minstrel: A Poem, London: […] [James Ballantyne] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, […], and A[rchibald] Constable and Co., […], →OCLC:
- Breathes there a man with soul so dead?
- (transitive) To draw something into the lungs.
- Try not to breathe too much smoke.
- (intransitive) To expel air from the lungs, exhale.
- If you breathe on a mirror, it will fog up.
- (transitive) To exhale or expel (something) in the manner of breath.
- The flowers breathed a heady perfume.
- 2012, Timothy Groves, The Book Of Creatures, →ISBN, page 85:
- Mountain Drakes breathe fire, Ice Drakes breathe ice, Swamp Drakes breathe acid, and Forest Drakes breathe lightning.
- (transitive) To give an impression of, to exude.
- The decor positively breathes classical elegance.
- (transitive) To whisper quietly.
- He breathed the words into her ear, but she understood them all.
- To pass like breath; noiselessly or gently; to emanate; to blow gently.
- The wind breathes through the trees.
- 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
- The air breathes upon us here most sweetly.
- 1812–1818, Lord Byron, “(please specify |canto=I to IV)”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. A Romaunt, London: Printed for John Murray, […]; William Blackwood, Edinburgh; and John Cumming, Dublin; by Thomas Davison, […], →OCLC, (please specify the stanza number):
- There breathes a living fragrance from the shore.
- (chiefly Evangelical and Charismatic Christianity, with God as agent) To inspire (scripture).
- 1850, John Howard Hinton, On the Divine Inspiration of the Scriptures. A lecture, etc, page 16:
- The affirmation before us, then, will be, "All scripture is divinely breathed."
- 1917, J. C. Ferdinand Pittman, Bible Truths Illustrated: For the Use of Preachers, Teachers, Bible-school, Christian Endeavor, Temperance and Other Christian Workers, page 168:
- […] that God, who breathed the Scriptures, "cannot lie," […]
- 2010, Jay E. Adams, The Christian Counselor's Manual: The Practice of Nouthetic Counseling, Zondervan, →ISBN:
- Paul says that since God breathed the Scriptures, they are therefore useful; he did not put it the other way around (i.e., that they are useful, therefore inspired).
- (intransitive) To exchange gases with the environment.
- Garments made of certain new materials breathe well and keep the skin relatively dry during exercise.
- (intransitive, now rare) To rest; to stop and catch one's breath.
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “lxiiij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book X:
- Thenne they lasshed to gyder many sad strokes / & tracyd and trauercyd now bakward / now sydelyng hurtlyng to gyders lyke two bores / & that same tyme they felle both grouelyng to the erthe / Thus they fought styll withoute ony reposynge two houres and neuer brethed
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]:
- Well! breathe awhile, and then to it again!
- (transitive) To stop, to give (a horse) an opportunity to catch its breath.
- At higher altitudes you need to breathe your horse more often.
- (transitive) To exercise; to tire by brisk exercise.
- (transitive, figurative) To passionately devote much of one's life to (an activity, etc.).
- ―Do you like hiking? ―Are you kidding? I breathe hiking.
Conjugation
[edit]Conjugation of breathe
infinitive | (to) breathe | ||
---|---|---|---|
present tense | past tense | ||
1st-person singular | breathe | breathed | |
2nd-person singular | breathe, breathest† | breathed, breathedst† | |
3rd-person singular | breathes, breatheth† | breathed | |
plural | breathe | ||
subjunctive | breathe | breathed | |
imperative | breathe | — | |
participles | breathing | breathed |
Synonyms
[edit]- (to draw air in and out): see Thesaurus:breathe
- (to be passionate about): live and breathe
Derived terms
[edit]- airbreathing
- airbreathing
- as I live and breathe
- breathable
- breathe again
- breathe a sigh of relief
- breathe a word
- breathe down someone's neck
- breathe easy
- breathe freely
- breathe in
- breathe one's last
- breathe one's last breath
- breathe out
- breather
- breathe upon
- breathing gas
- breathingly
- breathing room
- breathing space
- breathing spell
- buddy breathe
- bum-breathing
- embreathe
- fire-breathing
- fire-breathing
- imbreathe
- inbreathe
- misbreathe
- mouth-breathe
- nonbreathing
- outbreathe
- overbreathe
- overbreathed
- rebreathe
- stagger breathe
- unbreathed
- unbreathing
- underbreathe
- upbreathe
Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]to draw air in and out
|
to exchange gases in similar way
|
to use gas to sustain life
figuratively: to live
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to draw into lungs
|
to expel air from the lungs
to pass like breath
to give an impression of
to whisper quietly
|
to exchange gases with the environment
to stop and catch one's breath
|
to give an opportunity to catch breath
|
(figurative) to be passionately devoted to
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Anagrams
[edit]Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰreh₁-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/iːð
- Rhymes:English/iːð/1 syllable
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- en:Bodily functions
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with quotations
- en:Christianity
- English terms with rare senses
- Middle English terms with quotations
- en:Air