verbfirst conjugation
spīrō
spīrō (present infinitive spīrāre, perfect active spīrāvī, supine spīrātum)
Classical[ˈspiː.roː]Ecclesiastical[ˈspiː.ro]
Mille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- to breathe, draw breath, respire
Dum spīrō spērō.
As long as I breathe, I hope. - to blow, breathe, burst forth
- intransitivewith accusativeto breathe out, exhale, emit
- figurativelyto breathe, live, be alive (usually in the present participle)
- figurativelyto be poetically inspired
- figurativelyto design, intend, express
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
āera dūcō et reddō; quī spīrat, vīvit.spīrō -āre — in Mille Verba, Corpus Hūmānum
Conjugation conjugation 1
| form | present | imperfect | future | perfect | pluperfect | fut. perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | spīrō | spīrābam | spīrābō | spīrāvī | spīrāveram | spīrāverō |
| 2nd sg. | spīrās | spīrābās | spīrābis | spīrāvistī | spīrāverās | spīrāveris |
| 3rd sg. | spīrat | spīrābat | spīrābit | spīrāvit | spīrāverat | spīrāverit |
| 1st pl. | spīrāmus | spīrābāmus | spīrābimus | spīrāvimus | spīrāverāmus | spīrāverimus |
| 2nd pl. | spīrātis | spīrābātis | spīrābitis | spīrāvistis | spīrāverātis | spīrāveritis |
| 3rd pl. | spīrant | spīrābant | spīrābunt | spīrāvērunt spīrāvēre | spīrāverant | spīrāverint |
active subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect | perfect | pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | spīrem | spīrārem | spīrāverim | spīrāvissem |
| 2nd sg. | spīrēs | spīrārēs | spīrāverīs | spīrāvissēs |
| 3rd sg. | spīret | spīrāret | spīrāverit | spīrāvisset |
| 1st pl. | spīrēmus | spīrārēmus | spīrāverīmus | spīrāvissēmus |
| 2nd pl. | spīrētis | spīrārētis | spīrāverītis | spīrāvissētis |
| 3rd pl. | spīrent | spīrārent | spīrāverint | spīrāvissent |
passive indicative
| form | present | imperfect | future |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | spīror | spīrābar | spīrābor |
| 2nd sg. | spīrāris spīrāre | spīrābāris spīrābāre | spīrāberis spīrābere |
| 3rd sg. | spīrātur | spīrābātur | spīrābitur |
| 1st pl. | spīrāmur | spīrābāmur | spīrābimur |
| 2nd pl. | spīrāminī | spīrābāminī | spīrābiminī |
| 3rd pl. | spīrantur | spīrābantur | spīrābuntur |
passive subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | spīrer | spīrārer |
| 2nd sg. | spīrēris spīrēre | spīrārēris spīrārēre |
| 3rd sg. | spīrētur | spīrārētur |
| 1st pl. | spīrēmur | spīrārēmur |
| 2nd pl. | spīrēminī | spīrārēminī |
| 3rd pl. | spīrentur | spīrārentur |
imperative
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| pres. 2nd sg. | spīrā | spīrāre |
| pres. 2nd pl. | spīrāte | spīrāminī |
| fut. 2nd sg. | spīrātō | spīrātor |
| fut. 3rd sg. | spīrātō | spīrātor |
| fut. 2nd pl. | spīrātōte | — |
| fut. 3rd pl. | spīrantō | spīrantor |
infinitives & participles
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| present infinitive | spīrāre | spīrārī |
| perfect infinitive | spīrāvisse | spīrātum esse |
| future infinitive | spīrātūrum esse | spīrātum īrī |
| present participle | spīrāns | — |
| perfect participle | — | spīrātus |
| future participle | spīrātūrus | spīrandus |
gerundspīrandī, spīrandō, spīrandumsupinespīrātum, spīrātū
Lewis & Short A Latin Dictionary, 1879
spīro, āvi, ātum, 1, v. n. and a.
I. [etym. dub.].
I. Neutr., to breathe, blow, etc. (cf. flo).
A. Lit.
1. In gen. (only poet. and in postAug. prose):
freta circum Fervescunt graviter spirantibus incita flabris, Lucr. 6, 428; Ov. M. 7, 532: obturatis, quā spiraturus est ventus, cavernis, Plin. 8, 38, 58, § 138: emicat ex oculis, spiratque e pectore flamma, breathes forth, bursts forth, Ov. M. 8, 356: aequatae spirant aurae, Verg. A. 5, 844: graviter spirantis copia thymbrae, strongscented, Verg. G. 4, 31; cf.: semper odoratis spirabunt floribus arae, Stat. S. 3, 3, 211: seu spirent cinnama surdum, emit a slight fragrance, Pers. 6, 35: quā vada non spirant, nec fracta remurmurat unda, roar, rage, Verg. A. 10, 291; cf.: fervet fretis spirantibus aequor, boiling up, foaming, id. G. 1, 327.—2. In partic., to breathe, draw breath, respire (the class. signif. of the word; cf.
anhelo): cum spirantes mixtas hinc ducimus auras, Lucr. 6, 1129: quae deseri a me, dum quidem spirare potero, nefas judico, Cic. N. D. 3, 40, 94: ne spirare quidem sine metu possunt, id. Rosc. Am. 23, 65; id. Q. Fr. 1, 3, 1: vehementer et crebro spirare, Cels. 2, 4: querulum spirat, breathes plaintively, Mart. 2, 26, 1.—b. Transf.
(a). Like the Engl. to breathe, = to live, be alive (usu. in the part. pres.):
sunt qui ab eo (Clodio) spirante forum putent potuisse defendi, cujus non restiterit cadaveri curia (corresp. to vivus), Cic. Mil. 33, 91: ut in vivi etiam et spirantis capite bustum imponeret, id. Dom. 52, 134; cf.: margarita viva ac spirantia saxis avelli, Tac. Agr. 12 fin.: Catilina inter hostium cadavera repertus est, paululum etiam spirans, Sall. C. 61, 4: spirantia consulit exta, still panting, Verg. A. 4, 64: artus, Luc. 3, 732: corpora, id. 1, 363: non sunt ausi admovere (corpori), velut spiranti, manus, Curt. 10, 10, 13; Sil. 2, 430; cf. in verb. finit.: spirant venae corque adhuc paviduin salit, Sen. Thyest. 756.—* (b). Of aspirated letters:
quibus (litteris) nullae apud eos dulcius spirant, sound, Quint. 12, 10, 27.—B. Trop.
1. (Acc. to I. A. 1.) To be favorable, to favor (the fig. taken from a favorable wind):
quod si tam facilis spiraret Cynthia nobis, Prop. 2, 24 (3, 18), 5: di maris et terrae ... spirate secundi, Verg. A. 3, 529.—2. (Acc. to I. A. 2.) To breathe, live, be alive:
videtur Laelii mens spirare etiam in scriptis, Galbae autem vis occidisse, Cic. Brut. 24, 94; cf.: spirat adhuc amor Vivuntque calores Aeoliae puellae, Hor. C. 4, 9, 10.—Of life-like representations by painting, sculpture, etc.: excudent alii spirantia mollius aera, Verg. A. 6, 847: Parii lapidis spirantia signa, id. G. 3, 34: spirat et arguta picta tabella manu, Mart. 7, 84, 2; 11, 10, 7.—3. To be poetically inspired, to have the lyric spirit:
quod spiro, et placeo, si placeo, tuum est, Hor. C. 4, 3, 24 (Orell. ad loc.).—4. Spirare alte, altius, to be puffed up, proud, or arrogant, Flor. 2, 2, 27:
Eusebium alte spirantem addixere poenae, Amm. 22, 3, 12.— II. Act., to breathe out, exhale, emit (mostly poet. and post-Aug.; not in Cic.; syn. exhalo).
A. Lit.:
Diomedis equi spirantes naribus ignem, Lucr. 5, 29: flammam spirantes ore Chimaerae, id. 2, 705; so, flammas spirantes boves, Liv. 22, 17: flamina, Ov. F. 4, 18: Zephyros spirare secundos, Verg. A. 4, 562: tenuem animam, to breathe feebly, Val. Fl. 4, 436: ambrosiaeque comae divinum vertice odorem Spiravere, exhaled, Verg. A. 1, 404; Claud. Rapt. Pros. 2, 81.—B. Trop., to breathe forth, exhale:
pinguia Poppaeana, Juv. 6, 466: mendacia, id. 7, 111: ut vidit vastos telluris hiatus Divinam spirare fidem (i. e. oracula), Luc. 5, 83.—2. To breathe into:
ficto Corpori animam, Lact. 2, 11, 3.—3. Transf., like the Engl. to breathe, i. e. to be full of; to show, express, manifest; to design, intend a thing (poet. and in post-Aug. prose): tantum spirantes aequo certamine bellum. Lucr. 5, 392:
mollem spirare quietem, Prop. 1, 3, 7: quae spirabat amores, Hor. C. 4, 13, 19: inquietum hominem et tribunatum etiam nunc spirantem, Liv. 3, 46: fratris facta spirans, imitating, Sil. 15, 411; cf.: fratrem spirat in armis, id. 3, 740: spirantes proelia dira effigies, id. 17, 398.— Often with neutr. adj. used adverb.: magnum, Prop. 2, 15 (3, 7), 53: majora, Curt. 6, 9, 11: immane, Verg. A. 7, 510: tragicum satis, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 166; cf. id. C. 4, 3, 24: quiddam indomitum, Flor. 1, 22, 1: cruenta, Amm. 16, 1, 5.Origins
Uncertain. De Vaan suggests that it is probably ultimately of onomatopoeic origin. Kroonen connects the term with Proto-Germanic *fīsaną (“to blow; to fart”), proposing a common root *(s)peys- (“to blow, breathe”). Kroonen suggests that the Latin term may have derived from a Proto-Indo-European pre-form *(s)péys-eh₂-yeti, though De Vaan does not make such an assertion. De Vaan notes that the proposed Germanic differ in meaning and he argues that they may constitute independent formations within Proto-Germanic. De Vaan likewise rejects Proto-Slavic *pīskàti and Lithuanian pyškė́ti as possible cognates, arguing that these terms differ significantly in meaning and that the terms may have been formed within Balto-Slavic.
Elsewhere
- Catalanespirar
- Portugueseespirar
- Spanishespirar
- Icelandicspíra
- Old Frenchespirer
- Old Frenchanspirer
- Old Frenchenspirer
- Old Frenchinspirer
Italo-Romance
- Italianspirare