with bated breath

English

WOTD – 23 December 2007

Alternative forms

• with 'bated breath, with baited breath (common misspelling)

Etymology

From the verb bate, alteration by aphesis of the verb abate (“to reduce; lessen”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wɪð ˈbeɪtɪd ˈbɹɛθ/

• Audio (US):

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• Audio (AU):

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Prepositional phrase

with bated breath

1. with reduced breath
   • 1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act I Scene 3 [1]

     Or | Shall I bend low and in a bondman's key, | With bated breath and whispering humbleness, Say this;

   • 1878, Edward Hayes Plumptre (transl.), Philoctetes, lines 845-846.

     Speak gently, Ο my son, speak gently now
     With 'bated breath, speak low.

2. (idiomatic) Eagerly; with great anticipation.

   We are waiting with bated breath for the release of the new version.

Translations

holding one's breath

• Finnish: henkeä pidätellen
• Hebrew: בקוצר רוח
• Polish: z zapartym tchem
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: затаи́в дыха́ние (ru) (zataív dyxánije)
• Spanish: conteniendo el aliento
• Swedish: med återhållen andedräkt

eagerly

• Dutch: met ingehouden adem
• Finnish: henkeä pidätellen
• French: avec impatience
• German: mit angehaltenem Atem
• Hungarian: lélegzetvisszafojtva
• Polish: z zapartym tchem
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: prendendo o fôlego, com a respiração em suspenso, com a respiração suspensa
• Russian: затаи́в дыха́ние (ru) (zataív dyxánije)
• Spanish: pasmado (es), con aliento entrecortado
• Swedish: med andan i halsgropen
• Telugu: ఊపిరి బిగబట్టి (ūpiri bigabaṭṭi)

References

• Discussion of the phrase
• Michael Quinion (2004) “With bated breath”, in Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, →ISBN.