perspire

[per-spahyuh r]

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verb (used without object), per·spired, per·spir·ing.

to secrete a salty, watery fluid from the sweat glands of the skin, especially when very warm as a result of strenuous exertion; sweat.

verb (used with object), per·spired, per·spir·ing.

to emit through pores; exude.

Origin of perspire

1640–50; < Latin perspīrāre to blow constantly (said of the wind), breathe through; in New Latin: to sweat imperceptibly. See per-, inspire

Related formsper·spir·a·bil·i·ty, nounper·spir·a·ble, adjectiveper·spir·ing·ly, adverbper·spir·y, adjectiveun·per·spired, adjectiveun·per·spir·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for perspired

secrete, drip, pour, swelter, exude, lather, glow

Examples from the Web for perspired

Historical Examples of perspired

Near her stood a long-haired young man who perspired incessantly.
Melomaniacs
James Huneker
He perspired in reality now, and let his knees drop out of his arms.
The Twins of Suffering Creek
Ridgwell Cullum
In the evening I perspired so profusely that my bed had to be changed.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete
Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
The horses panted and perspired, while horses and lads were covered with dust.
Frank Merriwell's Bravery
Burt L. Standish
For a week, she toiled and perspired and suffered and was strong.
Teddy: Her Book
Anna Chapin Ray

British Dictionary definitions for perspired

perspire

verb

to secrete or exude (perspiration) through the pores of the skin

Derived Formsperspiringly, adverb

Word Origin for perspire

C17: from Latin perspīrāre to blow, from per- (through) + spīrāre to breathe; compare inspire

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for perspired

perspire

1640s, "to evaporate through the pores," a back-formation from perspiration and in part from Latin perspirare "to breathe, to blow constantly" (see perspiration). Meaning "to sweat" is a polite usage attested from 1725. Medical men tried to maintain a distinction between "sensible" (sweat) and "insensible" perspiration:

[I]t is sufficient for common use to observe, that perspiration is that insensible discharge of vapour from the whole surface of the body and the lungs which is constantly going on in a healthy state; that it is always natural and always salutary; that sweat, on the contrary, is an evacuation, which never appears without some uncommon effort, or some disease to the system, that it weakens and relaxes, and is so far from coinciding with perspiration, that it obstructs and checks it. [Charles White, "A Treatise on the Management of Pregnant and Lying-in Women," London, 1791]

Related: Perspired; perspiring.

perspired in Medicine

perspire

[pər-spīr′]

v.

To excrete perspiration through the pores of the skin.