WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Breath"ing
Part of Speech : n.
Definition : 1. Respiration; the act of inhaling and exhaling air. Subject to a difficulty of breathing. Melmoth.

2. Air in gentle motion.

3. Any gentle influence or operation; inspiration; as, the breathings of the Spirit.

4. Aspiration; secret prayer. "Earnest desires and breathings after that blessed state." Tillotson.

5. Exercising; promotion of respiration. Here is a lady that wants breathing too; And I have heard, you knights of Tyre Are excellent in making ladies trip. Shak.

6. Utterance; communication or publicity by words. I am sorry to give breathing to my purpose. Shak.

7. Breathing place; vent. Dryden.

8. Stop; pause; delay. You shake the head at so long a breathing. Shak.

9. Also, in a wider sense, the sound caused by the friction of the outgoing breath in the throat, mouth, etc., when the glottis is wide open; aspiration; the sound expressed by the letter h.

10. (Gr. Gram.)

Defn: A mark to indicate aspiration or its absence. See Rough breathing, Smooth breathing, below. Breathing place. (a) A pause. "That c?sura, or breathing place, in the midst of the verse." Sir P. Sidney. (b) A vent. -- Breathing time, pause; relaxation. Bp. Hall. -- Breathing while, time sufficient for drawing breath; a short time. Shak. -- Rough breathing (spiritus asper) (. See 2d Asper, n. -- Smooth breathing (spiritus lenis), a mark (') indicating the absence of the sound of h, as in 'ie`nai (ienai).
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913