respire means rest, respite.
respire is pronounced /ɹɪˈspʌɪə/.
Why “respire” is a great word
To breathe; to inhale and exhale air or gases, especially as part of the metabolic process of taking in oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. From Middle English respiren, from Old French respirer, from Latin respīrāre ('to breathe back, blow back, exhale'), from re- ('back') + spīrāre ('to breathe, blow'), first attested in late Middle English (1375–1425). Unlike 'perspire' (which details a skin's exudate) or 'inspire' (which elevates inhalation to a creative force), to respire is the neutral, relentless machinery of being alive. It is the soft rise and fall of a sleeping child's chest, the visible cloud of breath on a January morning, and the faint, ceaseless rustle of leaves in a still wood—the body's silent covenant with the atmosphere, each exhalation a small return of borrowed time.
Etymology
From Middle English respiren, borrowed from Old French respirer or Latin respīrō (“to blow back, breathe out”), from re- (“back”) + spīrō (“to breathe, blow”).
noun
- Rest, respite.“He cast to suffer him no more respire,
But gan his sturdie sterne about to weld,
And him so strongly stroke, that to the ground him feld.”
verb
- To breathe in and out successively.
- To breathe in and out successively.; To recover one's breath or breathe easily following stress.“The breath of heav'n fresh-blowing, pure and sweet, / With day-spring born; here leave me to respire.”
- To take up oxygen and produce carbon dioxide (as animals do), or vice versa (as plants do).“All living things respire or breathe. To many of us this means that they take in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide.”
- To (inhale and) exhale; to breathe.“It is my opinion, that these animals, while they continue in the state of larvae, respire water and not air; and that they inspire the water, not by the mask, but by their posterior part, through which also they discharge it.”
- To recover hope, courage, or strength after a time of difficulty.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- suspiration 87% match — The act of breathing, not necessarily for a sustained period (compare respiration, which is sustained). vs respire →
- suspire 86% match — To breathe, especially to exhale vs respire →
- embreathe 84% match — To breathe into; to inspire with. vs respire →
- inspiration 83% match — The drawing of air into the lungs, accomplished in mammals by elevation of the chest walls and flattening of the diaphragm, as part of the act of breathing. vs respire →
- prana 82% match — Respiration, breathing, seen as a life principle or life force. vs respire →
- resuscitate 82% match — To restore consciousness, vigor, or life to. vs respire →
- effervesce 81% match — To emit small bubbles of dissolved gas; to froth or fizz. vs respire →
- anhele 81% match — To yearn for, or to pant. vs respire →