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respiratory

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Etymology and origin of the English word respiratory

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1650, W. Charleton, translation of van Helmont
Borrowed from
Latin respiratorius
Ultimate origin
Latin spīrō

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ɹɪˈspɪ.ɹət.ə.ɹi/, /ɹɪˈspɪ.ɹə.tɹi/[1]
  • US: /ˈɹɛs.pəɹ.əˌtɔɹ.i/, /ˈɹɛs.pɹəˌtɔɹ.i/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin respīrātōrius (“relating to breathing”) (5th century),[2][3][4] formed on respīrātus, the past participle of respīrō (“to breathe out, breathe again”), with the suffix -ōrius (English -ory).[2][3][4] The verb is made from re- and spīrō (“to breathe”).[4] Etymonline and SOED allow that it may also have come through French respiratoire, recorded in French in 1566.[5][6][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to breathing or to the organs that carry it out: 1650, in Walter Charleton's translation of van Helmont.[2] Etymonline dates it to the 1660s, and SOED and Dictionary.com put its general use in the late 18th century.[5][6][7]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its first meaning; from 1877 biochemists also used it for the processes by which cells take in oxygen and release energy, the wider sense of respiration.[2] Compounds such as respiratory distress syndrome and respiratory pigment belong to modern medicine and biology.[6]

Timeline

  • 1650 – relating to breathing or the breathing organs.[2]
  • 1660s – Etymonline's date.[5]
  • 1780s – Dictionary.com's date.[7]
  • 1877 – in biochemistry, relating to cellular respiration.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Relating to or affecting breathing or the organs used in it, such as the lungs: respiratory infections.
  2. Serving for or functioning in respiration: the respiratory tract.
  3. (biochemistry) Relating to the processes of oxygen transport and cellular respiration.

Word family

  • cardiorespiratory
  • adult respiratory distress syndrome
  • respiratory pigment
  • respiratory syncytial virus
  • respiratory system

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Respiratory.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/respiratory. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·