respire

See also: respiré

English

Etymology

From Middle English respiren, borrowed from Old French respirer, from Latin respīrō, respīrāre, from re- + spīrō.

Verb

respire (third-person singular simple present respires, present participle respiring, simple past and past participle respired)

1. (intransitive) To breathe in and out; to engage in the process of respiration.
   • 1964, H. Webb and M. A. Grigg, Modern Science Book 3, 155

     All living things respire or breathe. To many of this means that they take in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide.

2. (intransitive) To recover one's breath or breathe easily following stress.
   • 1671, John Milton, Samson Agonistes, lines 10-11:

     The breath of heav'n fresh-blowing, pure and sweet, / With day-spring born; here leave me to respire.

   • 1888, Edmund Shaftesbury, Lessons in Artistic Deep Breathing for Strengthening the Voice, 23:

     Second Day.—Hold the breath five seconds. Respire, and hold the breath ten seconds. Respire, and hold the breath fifteen seconds.

3. (transitive) To (inhale and) exhale; to breathe.
   • 1799, M. Lesser, Insecto-Theology, 327:

     It is my opinion, that these animals, while they continue in the state of larvae, respire water and not air; and that they inspire the water, not by the mask, but by their posterior part, through which also they discharge it.

Synonyms

• (to breathe in and out): see Thesaurus:breathe

Related terms

• respiration

Noun

respire

1. (obsolete) Rest, respite.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.xi:

     He cast to suffer him no more respire, / But gan his sturdie sterne about to weld, / And him so strongly stroke, that to the ground him feld.

Anagrams

• perries, reprise

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Asturian

Verb

respire

1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive of respirar

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French

Verb

respire

1. inflection of respirer:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

• pierres, prières, reprise, reprisé

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Portuguese

Verb

respire

1. First-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of respirar
2. Third-person singular (ele, ela, also used with tu and você^?) present subjunctive of respirar
3. Third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of respirar
4. Third-person singular (você) negative imperative of respirar

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Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [reˈspire]

Verb

respire

1. third-person singular present subjunctive of respira
2. third-person plural present subjunctive of respira

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Spanish

Verb

respire

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of respirar.
2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of respirar.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of respirar.
4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of respirar.