breath

breath
\ \ [OE] Breath comes ultimately from the Indo-European base *bhrē- ‘burn, heat’ (source also of braise, breed, brood, and probably brawn), and in its original Indo-European form *bhrētos appears to have meant something like the ‘steam, vapour, etc given off by something burning or cooking’. When it reached Old English, via Germanic *brǣthaz, it still meant ‘smell’ or ‘exhalation’, and it was not in fact until as late as the 14th century that this notion of ‘exhalation’ came to be applied to human or animal respiration (the main Old English word for ‘breath’ had been ǣthm, which German still has in the form atem). The verb breathe is 13thcentury.
\ \ Cf.BRAISE, BRAWN, BREED, BROOD

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • breath — W2S3 [breθ] n [: Old English; Origin: brAth] 1.) a) [U] the air that you send out of your lungs when you breathe ▪ Leo could smell the wine on her breath. ▪ Let your breath out slowly. ▪ He s got bad breath (=breath that smells unpleasant) …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • breath — [ breθ ] noun count or uncount *** the air that goes in and out of your body through your nose or mouth: He could feel her warm breath on his face. His breath smelled strongly of alcohol. a. the act of getting air into your lungs by breathing:… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Breath — (br[e^]th), n. [OE. breth, breeth, AS. br[=ae][eth] odor, scent, breath; cf. OHG. br[=a]dam steam, vapor, breath, G. brodem, and possibly E. {Brawn}, and {Breed}.] 1. The air inhaled and exhaled in respiration; air which, in the process of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • breath — ► NOUN 1) air taken into or expelled from the lungs. 2) an instance of breathing in or out. 3) a slight movement of air. 4) a sign, hint, or suggestion: he avoided the slightest breath of scandal. ● breath of fresh air Cf. ↑breath of fresh air …   English terms dictionary

  • breath — breath; breath·er; breath·i·ness; breath·ing; breath·ing·ly; breath·less; breath·less·ness; Breath·a·ly·zer; breath·able; breath·a·bil·i·ty; breath·less·ly; breath·tak·ing·ly; …   English syllables

  • breath — [breth] n. [ME breth < OE bræth, odor, exhalation < IE base * bher , well up > FERMENT, BARM, BROOD] 1. air taken into the lungs and then let out 2. the act of breathing; respiration 3. the power to breathe easily and naturally [to get… …   English World dictionary

  • Breath — «Breath» Сингл Breaki …   Википедия

  • Breath — Single par Aya Kamiki Face A Breath Face B Mamoritai... Sortie 21 mai 2003 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Breath — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Breath (exhalación) es un montaje de escenario, escrito por Samuel Beckett, una versión modificada de esta performance fue incluida en el musical de Kenneth Tynan Oh! Calcutta!. Este trabajo fue estrenado en octubre… …   Wikipedia Español

  • breath — [n1] respiration animation, breathing, eupnea, exhalation, expiration, gasp, gulp, inhalation, inspiration, insufflation, pant, wheeze; concept 163 breath [n2] wind or something in the air aroma, faint breeze, flatus, flutter, gust, odor, puff,… …   New thesaurus

  • breath|er — «BREE thuhr», noun. 1. a short stop for breath; rest: »He had stopped for a few minutes breather. SYNONYM(S): respite, pause. 2. a person or thing that breathes: »I will chide no breather in the world but myself against whom I know most faults… …   Useful english dictionary

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