English
aspire
Aspire comes from Latin aspīrō ‘breathe on’, and goes back to spīrō.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīrō‘breathe’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEaspīrō‘breathe on’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400aspirer
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500aspiren
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588aspire
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīrō‘breathe’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEaspīrō‘breathe on’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400aspirer
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500aspiren
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588aspire
Earliest quotation: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Thus ſhall my heart be ſtil combinde with thine,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- ‘to breathe’
through Latin spīrō ‘breathe’
spirit, conspiracy, respiratory, spree, sprite, expire, esprit, conspire, 53 more
Today it means
verb To have a strong desire or ambition to achieve something.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin spīrō / aspire