Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BREATH, n. [breth; Sax. bræth, odor, scent, breath; G. brodem, steam, vapor, breath.]

1. The air inhaled and expelled in the respiration of animals.
2. Life. No man has more contempt than I of breath. – Dryden.
3. The state or power of breathing freely; opposed to a state of exhaustion from violent action; as, I am out of breath; I am scarce in breath. – Shak.
4. Respit; pause; time to breathe; as, let me take breath; give me some breath. – Shak.
5. Breeze; air in gentle motion. Calm and unruffled as a summer's sea, / When not a breath of wind flies o'er its surface. – Addison.
6. A single respiration; as, he swears at every breath.
7. An instant; the time of a single respiration; a single act. He smiles and he frowns to a breath. – Dryden.
8. A word. A breath can make them, as a breath has made. – Goldsmith.