respiratory English · revision 39467

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1650, W. Charleton, translation of van Helmont|origins=la spīrō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ɹɪˈspɪ.ɹət.ə.ɹi/, /ɹɪˈspɪ.ɹə.tɹi/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈɹɛs.pəɹ.əˌtɔɹ.i/, /ˈɹɛs.pɹəˌtɔɹ.i/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-lat|respīrātōrius|t=relating to breathing]] (5th century),^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(Klein 1966) formed on [[m|la|respīrātus]], the past participle of [[m|la|respīrō|t=to breathe out, breathe again]], with the suffix [[m|la|-ōrius]] (English [[-ory]]).^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(Klein 1966) The verb is made from [[m|la|re-]] and [[m|la|spīrō|t=to breathe]].^(Klein 1966) Etymonline and SOED allow that it may also have come through [[fr|respiratoire]], recorded in French in 1566.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Relating to breathing or to the organs that carry it out: 1650, in Walter Charleton's translation of van Helmont.^(OED 2026) Etymonline dates it to the 1660s, and SOED and Dictionary.com put its general use in the late 18th century.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==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]].^(OED 2026) Compounds such as ''respiratory distress syndrome'' and ''respiratory pigment'' belong to modern medicine and biology.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1650 – relating to breathing or the breathing organs.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1660s – Etymonline's date.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1780s – Dictionary.com's date.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+ * 1877 – in biochemistry, relating to cellular respiration.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Relating to or affecting [[breathing]] or the organs used in it, such as the [[lung|alt=lungs]]: ''respiratory infections''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Serving for or functioning in respiration: ''the respiratory tract''.^(MWU 2024)

+ # (biochemistry) Relating to the processes of oxygen transport and cellular respiration.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cardiorespiratory]]

+ * [[adult respiratory distress syndrome]]

+ * [[respiratory pigment]]

+ * [[respiratory syncytial virus]]

+ * [[respiratory system]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[respiration]]

+ * [[respirator]]

+ * [[respire]]

+ * [[spirit]]

+ * [[inspire]]

+ * [[expire]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}