2. Air in gentle motion.
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." Tillotson.
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. Shak.
6. Utterance; communication or publicity by words. I am sorry to give breathing to my purpose. Shak.
7. Breathing place; vent. Dryden.
8. Stop; pause; delay. You shake the head at so long a breathing. Shak.
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.)
Defn: A mark to indicate aspiration or its absence. See Rough
breathing, Smooth breathing, below. Breathing place. (a) A pause.
"That cæsura, or breathing place, in the midst of the verse." Sir P.
Sidney. (b) A vent.
— Breathing time, pause; relaxation. Bp. Hall.
— Breathing while, time sufficient for drawing breath; a short
time. Shak.
— Rough breathing (spiritus asper) (. See 2d Asper, n.
— Smooth breathing (spiritus lenis), a mark (') indicating the
absence of the sound of h, as in 'ie`nai (ienai).