respire

C2+ Topic:Verbs of Movement

US /rɪˈspaɪɚ/ UK /rɪˈspaɪə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to breathe; to take in and expel air

The diver surfaced and began to respire deeply.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to breathe; to take in and... breathe inhale exhale

Word family

Derived forms respirationrespiratorrespiratory

Related forms respirationrespiratorinspire expire perspire spirit

Etymology

From Latin respirare ('to breathe again, breathe out'), from re- (intensive, 'back') + spirare ('to breathe').

respirare Latin spirare Latin

View etymology graph ->

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# respire

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /rɪˈspaɪɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /rɪˈspaɪə/

## Meanings
1. to breathe; to take in and expel air

## Examples
- The diver surfaced and began to respire deeply.

## Synonyms
- breathe
- inhale
- exhale

## Derived Forms
- respiration
- respirator
- respiratory

## Related Forms
- respiration
- respirator
- inspire
- expire
- perspire
- spirit

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: respirare
- Root: spirare

## Etymology
From Latin respirare ('to breathe again, breathe out'), from re- (intensive, 'back') + spirare ('to breathe').

## AI Etymology
Respire comes from Latin respirare ('to breathe again, breathe out'), from re- (intensive, 'back') + spirare ('to breathe'). The historical chain includes Latin respirare and Latin spirare. The quoted older senses, "to breathe again, breathe out", "back", and "to breathe", supply the semantic anchors for respire. The formation is best read as compound and borrowed: the word respire carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a verb, "to breathe; to take in and expel air". English derivatives include respiration, respirator, and respiratory; related English forms include respiration, respirator, inspire, expire, and perspire. The result is a verb whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Verbs of Movement

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respire

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