perspire

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to produce sweat through the pores of the skin; a formal word for sweat

   Even in the shade, the runners continued to perspire heavily.

Simplified etymology

Perspire entered English in the mid-17th century from a Latin formation based on spirare, “to breathe,” with the literal sense “breathe through.”

Borrowed through French perspirer from Latin perspirare ("to breathe or blow through"), formed from per- ("through") + spirare ("to breathe"). Its English physiological sense arose from the former belief that moisture passed invisibly through the skin like breath.

Topics

External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary