Etymograph

English

spiracle

Spiracle comes from Latin spiraculum ‘air hole, vent, spiracle’, and goes back to spirō ‘to breathe’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspirō1as spirare‘to breathe’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEspiraculum1‘air hole, vent, spiracle’
  3. Englishtodayspiracle1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English spiracle

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspirōWiktionary, English spiracleas spirare‘to breathe’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEspiraculumWiktionary, English spiracle‘air hole, vent, spiracle’
  3. EnglishtodayspiracleWiktionary, English spiracle

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- ‘to blow’

spiritual, spiritus, 48 more

through Proto-Germanic *fīsaną ‘to blow’

conspire, 4 more

through Latin spirō ‘to breathe’

spirit, conspiracy, spree, respiratory, expire, sprite, aspire, aspiration, esprit, spire, aspirant, 50 more

Today it means

noun A pore or opening used (especially by arthropods and some fish) for respiration.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “spiracle”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin spirō / spiracle

Shirt and support for this word