spir

breathe

Spelled spir · spirare 'breathe'; spiritus 'breath, spirit'

Latin spirare means to breathe: inspire once meant breathing into, conspire meant breathing together, and spirit began as breath.

Words built from it

spirit — a person's inner character, courage, or energy
Latin spirare (breathe) → spiritus (breath, spirit) → spirit
aspire — hope and strive to achieve something
Latin ad- (toward), becoming a- before spirare (breathe) → aspirare (breathe toward, strive for) → aspire
conspire — secretly plan with others to do something wrong
Latin con- (together) + spirare (breathe) → conspirare (breathe together, agree) → conspire
inspire — fill someone with an urge or ability to do something
Latin in- (into) + spirare (breathe) → inspirare (breathe into) → inspire
expire — come to an end or cease to be valid
Latin ex- (out) + spirare (breathe) → exspirare (breathe out, die) → expire
transpire — become known; also, happen
Latin trans- (through) + spirare (breathe) → Medieval Latin transpirare (breathe through) → transpire
dispirited — having lost hope, enthusiasm, or courage
dis- (remove) + spirit, from Latin spiritus (breath, spirit), from spirare (breathe), + -ed
respiration — the process of breathing
Latin re- (back) + spirare (breathe) → respirare (breathe out, breathe) → respiratio → respiration

spiral — It comes from Latin spira, 'coil,' borrowed from Greek speira, rather than spirare, 'breathe.'