aspiration
Meaning
A strong desire to achieve something high or great.
The action of drawing breath, or the act of breathing in.
The action of pronouncing a sound with an audible release of breath.
Structure
Usage
Her lifelong aspiration was to become a doctor.
The patient's aspiration was clear and unlabored.
The phonetics class practiced the aspiration of the 'p' sound in 'pin'.
Etymology
The word 'aspiration' originates from the Latin verb 'aspirare', which means 'to breathe upon, to desire'. This verb is a compound of 'ad-' (to, towards) and 'spirare' (to breathe). The core concept of drawing breath towards something evolved metaphorically. In English, it retained the literal medical and phonetic sense of breathing in, while the figurative sense of 'a strong desire' developed from the idea of breath being the animating force of life, thus representing one's soul or ambition yearning towards a goal.
Analysis
a-: Latin prefix 'ad-', meaning 'to, towards'. spir: Latin root 'spirare', meaning 'to breathe'. -ation: Latin-derived noun-forming suffix indicating an action or process.