aspire

verb

Etymology: From Middle English aspiren, from Old French aspirer, from Latin aspīrō (“breathe on; approach; desire”).

1. To have a strong desire or ambition to achieve something.

   “to aspire to / for / after / to do something; to aspire that something happens”

   “He aspires to become a successful doctor.”

2. To go as high as, to reach the top of (something).

   “Thus ſhall my heart be ſtil combinde with thine, / Untill our bodies turne to Elements: / And both our ſoules aſpire celeſtiall thrones.”

   “Mercutio’s dead! / That gallant spirit hath aspired the clouds,”

3. To move upward; to be very tall.

   “In midſt of which a ſumptuous Temple ſtands, / That threats the ſtarres with her aſpiring toppe.”

   “As they descended, they saw […] one of the grand passes of the Pyreneáes into Spain, gleaming with its battlements and towers to the splendour of the setting rays, yellow tops of woods colouring the steeps below, while far above aspired the snowy points of the mountains, still reflecting a rosy hue.”