aspiratio

Forms

aspīrātiō f (genitive aspīrātiōnis); third declension^[1] Also spelled adspīrātiō.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin aspīrō + -tiō, a noun of action from the verb meaning “to breathe or blow upon”.^[2][1] The verb is a compound of spīrō (“to breathe”),^[4] which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *spīr/s-.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero (81–43 BC)^[5] is the first to have it: in De natura deorum living things are sustained by the breathing of the air upon them.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Cicero also used it for the exhalation of the earth and, as a grammatical term, for the pronunciation of an aspirate.^[3][2] In grammar it came to mean the rough breathing and, by metonymy, the letter H (Quintilian, Priscian).^[6] Later writers used it for the blowing of winds (Lactantius) and, figuratively, for divine favour (Ammianus)^[3] and for divine or demonic inspiration (Cassiodorus).^[6]

Medieval Latin kept the grammatical sense^[7][8] and added breath, the dawning of a day, inspiration, grace and longing.^[8] English took it in the late 14th century for a spirant; the sense “steadfast longing for a higher goal” dates from about 1600.^[9]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it for the breathing of the air and for the aspirate in pronunciation.^[2][5]
• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it as a grammatical term.^[6][5]
• c. 390 AD – Ammianus uses it figuratively for divine favour.^[3][5]
• c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus uses it for heavenly inspiration.^[6][5]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as aspiration.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A blowing or breathing upon; an exhalation.^[2][3]
2. (grammar) The pronunciation of an aspirate; the rough breathing; the letter H.^[2][6]
3. (Late Latin) Divine favour or inspiration.^[3][6]
4. (Medieval Latin) Breath.^[8][7]
5. (Medieval Latin) The dawning of a day.^[8]
6. (Medieval Latin) Longing, desire.^[8]

Related words

• English aspiration

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com