respiro Italian · revision 39341

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=before 1612, Battista Guarini|origins=la spiro}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /resˈpi.ro/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''respiro''' ''m'' (plural respiri)^(Wiktionary)

+ An old form is ''rispiro''.^(GDLI|15, 878)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|it|respirare|-o]], a noun made from the verb.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary) The verb continues [[la|respīrō|t=to recover one's breath]], from [[m|la|re-|t=again]] and [[m|la|spīrō|t=to breathe]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wikizionario) De Vaan suggests that the Latin verb imitated the sound of breathing; it has no sure cognates.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's oldest record is figurative: “relief, rest” in Battista Guarini, before 1612.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010) The literal “act of breathing” follows in Agostino Mascardi, before 1640, where the palpitation of the heart is called a broken movement “without breath” (''senza respiro'').^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI|15, 878)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In 17th-century medical writing the word is used for the frequency of breathing (''frequenza di respiro'', 1672, Geminiano Montanari).^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) ''Fino agli ultimi respiri'' “until death” is recorded in 1650, and ''fino all'ultimo respiro'' in Tommaseo–Bellini.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The sense “pause, interruption” dates from before 1665 (Lorenzo Lippi) and was not well liked by purists.^(DELI 1999) In commerce ''respiro'' became a delay granted for a payment (1686, Sebastiano Foscarini), a use that German borrowed as ''Respiro'' in 1806.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT) The figurative sense of breadth or scope, as in ''un'opera di ampio respiro'', is recorded in 1942, when Panzini called it a word overused by men of letters.^(DELI 1999) Music uses it for a short pause to take breath and for the mark that shows it.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1612 – Battista Guarini uses ''respiro'' for relief or rest.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1640 – Agostino Mascardi uses it for breathing.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1665 – Lorenzo Lippi uses it for a pause.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1686 – Sebastiano Foscarini uses it for a delay in payment.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT)

+ * 1806 – German ''Respiro'' is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1942 – Panzini records the sense “breadth, scope”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|breathing]], respiration: ''Dopo la corsa aveva il respiro affannoso.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A single [[m|en|breath]]: ''Prima di parlare fece un respiro profondo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A [[m|en|respite]], a break from work or worry: ''Questo lavoro non mi lascia un attimo di respiro.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # An extension of time, especially for a payment.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Breadth of vision or of conception, especially of a work: ''un progetto di ampio respiro''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(music)'' A short pause for breath, and the apostrophe-shaped sign that marks it on the stave.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(foundry)'' A vent in the top of a mould that lets the air out.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[respirare]]

+ * [[spirito]]

+ * [[la|spiro]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Set phrases include ''fino all'ultimo respiro'', until death, ''esalare'' or ''mandare l'ultimo respiro'', to die, ''tirare un respiro di sollievo'', to breathe a sigh of relief, and ''togliere'' or ''mozzare il respiro'', to take one's breath away.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}