suspiration
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Learned borrowing from Latin suspīrātiō, suspīrātiōnem (“sighing”).
Noun
[edit]suspiration (plural suspirations)
- The act of breathing, not necessarily for a sustained period (compare respiration, which is sustained).
- c. 1599-1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, act 1, scene 2; republished as Hamlet, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1992, →ISBN, page 9:
- nor windy suspiration of forced breath
- 1662, Henry More, An Antidote Against Atheism, Book II, A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More, p. 80:
- and the assistance of the inward Intercostal Muscles in deep Suspirations, when we take more large gulps of Aire to cool our heart overcharged with Love or Sorrow […]