Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Definition for Breath (-s)
breast (-s)breathe (-d, -s, breathing)
breath (-s), n. [OE 'odor,' 'smell,' 'exhalation from cooking or burning'.] (webplay: air, breathing, flies, freely, give, instant, Life, man, motion, power, sea, smiles, summer's, surface, time, wind, word).
- Pattern of inhalation and exhalation; interchange of air through the lungs.
- Existence; life force; (see Job 27:3).
- Moment; brief time; single respiration.
- Wind; air currents; forces of the atmosphere.
- Word; speech; discourse; language; communication; (see Psalms 33:6); [fig.] poetry.
- Mortality; earthly state.
- Respiration; [fig.] life; animation; vitality.
- Sob; cry; lament; expression of grief; (see Lamentations 3:56).
- Effort; endeavor; exertion; attempt.
- Pain; agony; spasm; throe; expression of anguish.
- Period; stage; phase; manifestation; expression; aspect.
- Phrase. “Hold … breath”: freeze; become still; cease moving; no longer appear.
- Phrase. “Out of breath”: windy; breezy; blustery; breathing out deeply; [fig.] exhausted; spent because of exertion.
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