Emily Dickinson Lexicon

RES-PI-RA'TION, n. [Fr. from L. respiratio.]

1. The act of breathing; the act of inhaling air into the lungs and again exhaling or expelling it, by which animal life is supported. The respiration of fishes, [for these can not live long without air,] appears to be performed by the air contained in the water acting on the gills.
2. Relief from toil. – Milton.