Added 8 October 2026
inspire
/ɪnˈspaɪə(ɹ)/ verb
In Latin: afflō, iniciō, īnspīrō Wiktionary
verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about inspire at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- To infuse into the mind; to communicate to the spirit; to convey, as by a divine or supernatural influence; to disclose preternaturally; to produce in, as by inspiration.
-
To infuse into; to affect, as with a superior or supernatural influence; to fill with what animates, enlivens or exalts; to communicate inspiration to.
Elders should inspire children with sentiments of virtue.
- To draw in by the operation of breathing; to inhale.
Origin
From Middle English inspiren, enspiren, from Old French inspirer, variant of espirer, from Latin īnspīrāre (“inspire”), itself a loan-translation of Biblical Ancient Greek πνέω (pnéō, “breathe”), from in + spīrō (“breathe”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- (“to blow, breathe”). Displaced native Old English onbryrdan (literally “to prick in”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)