exhaled
UK[ɛksˈheɪld]US[ɛksˈheɪld]
v
to breathe air, smoke, etc. out of your lungs
v
(formal) to give off or emit (a vapor, scent, etc.)
Morpheme Breakdown
ex
hale
d
ex
out
hale
breathe
d
past tense suffix
Etymology
the verb 'exhale' is built upon the latin verb exhalare, which is a compound of the prefix ex- (meaning "out") and the verb halare (meaning "to breathe"). this literal sense of "breathing out" passed directly into english via middle french exhaler. the core logic of the word has remained remarkably stable from its ancient roots to modern usage, where it denotes the physical act of expelling breath or, by extension, the emission of any substance in vapor or gaseous form. the '-d' suffix is the regular english inflection marking the past tense and past participle, completing the word's integration into the grammatical system of english.
Analysis
Structure: ex (out) + hale (breathe) + d (past tense suffix)
ex: latin origin, a prefix meaning "out of, from, thoroughly".
hale: from latin halare, meaning "to breathe".
d: old english origin, a suffix indicating the past tense and past participle of regular verbs.
Examples
she exhaled slowly, trying to calm her nerves.
the machine analyzed the chemicals exhaled by the patient.
the flower exhaled a delicate, sweet fragrance into the evening air.