breathe
part of speech
verb (breathe, breathes, breathed, breathing)
meaning for a pupil
1) To breathe is to take air into your body and let it out again. tree →
2) To breathe in is to take air in; to breathe out is to let it out. tree →
3) To breathe can mean to say very softly: «She breathed a word». tree →
4) To breathe freely is to feel safe and relaxed, without fear of being caught. tree →
sense in the lessons
Interpretation: Sefer Yetzirah commentators link breathing with the Hebrew words for soul, spirit and wind, which are closely related, and see air as one of the first elements of creation. In Song of Songs "until the day breathe" means until the morning breeze comes, and in Psalms "breathe out violence" describes those who speak cruelty as if it were their breath. In the primary lessons: an action with a rate: breaths per minute; in science, lungs take in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide; fish breathe with gills; phrases «breathe in», «breathe out», «take a deep breath», «out of breath»
examples
- It derives from the root נפ״שׁ NPSh, having to do with breathing, refreshing, and resting; its etymological relationships with curiously similar roots like נשׁ״ם NShM ‘to breathe, pant’, נשׁ״ף NShP ‘to blow’, and נשׁ״ב NShB ‘to blow’ are unclear. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) tree →
- But on the most literal level, it means ‘wind’, as in the אַרְבָּע רוּחוֹת arbaʽ ruchot ‘four winds’ corresponding to the four cardinal directions, and is also conjured in the verb הֵרִיחַ heriach ‘to smell, breathe in (with the nostrils)’. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) tree →
- Deliver me not over unto the will of mine adversaries; for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out violence. (Writings PSA.27.12, JPS 1917) tree →
- Until the day breathe, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. (Writings SNG.4.6, JPS 1917) tree →
- Until the day breathe, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a gazelle or a young hart upon the mountains of spices. (Writings SNG.2.17, JPS 1917) tree →
- A person breathes about 16 times a minute. tree →
- How many breaths in 5 minutes? tree →
- A whale can hold its breath for 20 minutes. tree →
- She breathes in for 4 seconds. tree →
- Breathe in slowly through your nose. tree →
- Fish breathe through their gills. tree →
- Take a deep breath when you feel upset. tree →
- After the race I could hardly breathe. tree →
- Plants help us breathe by making oxygen. tree →
- We breathe faster when we run. tree →
- Robbers and smugglers could breathe freely here. tree →
note
A rate per minute: total = rate × minutes. Trap: watch the time units. «Breathe» (verb, long ee sound) and «breath» (noun, short e sound) are different words.
In the corpora
- A false witness that breatheth out lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
- He that breatheth forth truth uttereth righteousness; but a false witness deceit.
- A faithful witness will not lie; but a false witness breatheth forth lies.
- A true witness delivereth souls; but he that breatheth forth lies is all deceit.
- A false witness shall not be unpunished; and he that breatheth forth lies shall not escape.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «breathe» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.