English
exspire
Exspire comes from Latin exspīrō ‘to exhale (breathe out)’, and goes back to spīrō.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīrō‘to breathe, draw breath, respire’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexspīrō‘to exhale (breathe out)’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500exspire
- Englishearliest quotation 1557same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīrō‘to breathe, draw breath, respire’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexspīrō‘to exhale (breathe out)’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500exspire
- Englishearliest quotation 1557same form
Earliest quotation: 1557, The Statutes of the Realm. …: “[…] until the sev͛all dayes and tymes apoynted and…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- ‘to breathe’
through Latin spīrō ‘to breathe, draw breath, respire’
spirit, conspiracy, respiratory, spree, sprite, aspiration, expire, esprit, aspire, conspire, aspirant, 50 more
Today it means
verb —
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin spīrō / exspire