1.Respiration; the act of inhaling and exhaling air. "Subject to a difficulty of breathing."
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."
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."
6.Utterance; communication or publicity by words. "I am sorry to give breathing to my purpose."
8.Stop; pause; delay. "You shake the head at so long a breathing."
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.) A mark to indicate aspiration or its absence. See Rough breathing, Smooth breathing, below.
Breathing place. (a)A pause. "That caesura, or breathing place, in the midst of the verse."
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