English
respire
Respire comes from Middle English respiren.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500respiren
- Englishearliest quotation 1590respire
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500respiren
- Englishearliest quotation 1590respire
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book I, Canto XI: “He cast to suffer him no more respire, But…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- ‘to blow’
through Latin spīrō ‘to breathe, blow’
spirit, conspiracy, spree, sprite, expire, aspiration, aspire, esprit, aspirant, conspire, 51 more
Today it means
verb To breathe in and out successively.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English respiren / respire