respire

See also: respiré

English

Etymology

From Middle English respiren, borrowed from Old French respirer or Latin respīrō (“to blow back, breathe out”), from re- (“back”) +‎ spīrō (“to breathe, blow”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈspʌɪə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈspaɪɹ/
• Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)

Verb

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

1. (intransitive) To breathe in and out successively.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:breathe

   1. (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^[1], page 23:

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

2. (cytology, intransitive) To take up oxygen and produce carbon dioxide through oxidation.
   • 1964, H. Webb; M. A. Grigg, Modern Science‎^[2], Book 3, page 155:

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

3. (transitive) To (inhale and) exhale; to breathe.
   • 1799, M. Lesser, Insecto-Theology: Or, a Demonstration of the Being and Perfections of God, from a Consideration of the Structure and Economy of Insects‎^[3], page 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.

4. (archaic, intransitive) To recover hope, courage, or strength after a time of difficulty.

Derived terms

• photorespire
• respirable
• respiratory
• respiring
• respiro-

 

Related terms

• respiration
• respirability
• respirableness
• respirative

Noun

respire

1. (obsolete) Rest, respite.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Qveene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for VVilliam Ponsonbie, OCLC 960102938, book I, canto XI, page 162:

     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.

References

• “respire”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
• “respire”, in Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary.

Anagrams

• perries, reprise

---

Asturian

Verb

respire

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

---

French

Pronunciation

• Audio (CAN)

  (file)

Noun

respire m (plural respires)

1. (Quebec, Louisiana) Alternative spelling of respir

Derived terms

• avoir le respire court et le discours égaré

Verb

respire

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

Anagrams

• pierres, prières, reprise, reprisé

Further reading

• “respire” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

---

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

---

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [reˈspire]

Verb

respire

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

---

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.