irrespirable

English

WOTD – 24 September 2023

Either:^[1]^[2]

from ir- (prefix meaning ‘not’) +‎ respirable; or
borrowed from French irrespirable, from Late Latin irrespīrābilis, from Latin ir- (a variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘not’)) + respīrāre + -ābilis (suffix meaning ‘able to be’). Respīrāre is the present active infinitive of respīrō (“to blow or breathe back; to breathe, respire; to breathe out, exhale”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again; back, backwards’) + spīrō (“to blow; to breathe, respire; to breathe out, exhale”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- (“to blow; to breathe”)).

(Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: îrĭspīr'əbəl, îrĕ'spĭrəbəl, IPA^(key): /ɪɹɪˈspaɪɹəb(ə)l/, /ɪˈɹɛspɪɹəb(ə)l/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Hyphenation: ir‧re‧spir‧a‧ble

irrespirable (comparative more irrespirable, superlative most irrespirable)

not respirable; not suitable for breathing — see unbreathable

^ “irrespirable, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023.
^ “irrespirable, adj.”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present, reproduced from Stuart Berg Flexner, editor in chief, Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: Random House, 1993, →ISBN.

From Late Latin irrespīrābilis, from Latin ir- (a variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘not’)) + respīrāre + -ābilis (suffix meaning ‘able to be’). Respīrāre is the present active infinitive of respīrō (“to blow or breathe back; to breathe, respire; to breathe out, exhale”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again; back, backwards’) + spīrō (“to blow; to breathe, respire; to breathe out, exhale”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- (“to blow; to breathe”)). The French word is analysable as in- +‎ respirable.

irrespirable (plural irrespirables)

irrespirable m or f (masculine and feminine plural irrespirables)