Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “respire” come from?

Respire comes from Middle English respiren, from Old French respirer, from Latin respirare, formed from the prefix re- and a root from Proto-Indo-European (s)peys-.

respire (English): To breathe in and out; to engage in the process...

Definitions

  1. To breathe in and out; to engage in the process...

Ancestry of “respire”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishrespiren—
2Old Frenchrespirerto respire; to breathe; to come back to life; to...
3Latinrespīrō—
4Latinrĕ-—
5Latinprōdūcō—
6Latinprō-—
7Proto-Italic*pro-—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
10Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
11Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “respire”

  • respiratory
  • cardiorespiratory
  • respirable
  • respirometry
  • respirometer
  • photorespiratory
  • nonrespiratory
  • irrespirable
  • respirometric
  • respirability
  • chlororespiratory
  • photorespire
  • radiorespirometric
  • radiorespirometry
  • respiratorily
  • respirableness
  • respireth
  • respirest
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →