We know the definitions of words that end in -spire…but do we know what they literally mean? All these -spire endings come from the Latin spirare, which means “to breathe.” So let’s examine our English words!
Conspire – literally “breathe together”
Perspire – literally “through breath”
Aspire – literally “to breathe upon” (the notion being to pant after something)
Respire – literally “to breathe again”
Transpire – literally “across, beyond, or through the breath”
Expire – literally “out of breath”
Inspire – literally “to put breath into”
Then, hilariously, there’s spire…which isn’t from that Latin root at all, but is from Norse/Germanic, meaning “sharp point.” 😉
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Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. 
