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breath

noun

  1. product of breathing
  2. inhale and exhale air
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Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /bɹɛθ/ / [bɹ̠ʷɛθ] / /bɹeθ/

adj

Etymology: From Middle English breeth, breth, from Old English brǣþ (“odor, scent, stink, exhalation, vapor”), from Proto-West Germanic *brāþi (“vapour, waft, exhalation, breath”) (compare German Brodem (“haze, vapor; breath”), of a different but related formation).

  1. voiceless, surd; contrasting with voice (breath sounds, voice sounds)

noun

Etymology: From Middle English breeth, breth, from Old English brǣþ (“odor, scent, stink, exhalation, vapor”), from Proto-West Germanic *brāþi (“vapour, waft, exhalation, breath”) (compare German Brodem (“haze, vapor; breath”), of a different but related formation).

  1. The act or process of breathing.

    “I could hear the breath of the runner behind me.”

    “The child's breath came quickly and unevenly.”

  2. A single act of breathing in or out; a breathing of air.

    “I took a deep breath and started the test.”

    “Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes.[…]She put back a truant curl from her forehead where it had sought egress to the world, and looked him full in the face now, drawing a deep breath which caused the round of her bosom to lift the lace at her throat.”

  3. Air expelled from the lungs.

    “I could feel the runner's breath on my shoulder.”

  4. A rest or pause.

    “Let's stop for a breath when we get to the top of the hill.”

  5. A small amount of something, such as wind, or common sense.

    “Even with all the windows open, there is hardly a breath of air in here.”

    “If she had a breath of common sense, she would never have spoken to the man in the first place.”

  6. Fragrance; exhalation; odor; perfume.

    “Autumn[…]Who wakenest with thy balmy breath”

    “the breath of flowers”

  7. Gentle exercise, causing a quicker respiration.

    “an after dinner's breath”

verb

Etymology: From Middle English breeth, breth, from Old English brǣþ (“odor, scent, stink, exhalation, vapor”), from Proto-West Germanic *brāþi (“vapour, waft, exhalation, breath”) (compare German Brodem (“haze, vapor; breath”), of a different but related formation).

  1. Misspelling of breathe.

    “In the polar regions one finds dark cold waters with few places to breath.”