Crossword Dictionary
Breathless
breathless, breathtaking - a
tending to cause suspension of regular breathing; "a breathless flight"; "breathtaking adventure"
Synonyms
out of breath, winded, exhausted, panting, gasping, puffed, excited, anxious, curious, eager, enthusiastic, impatient, agog
Examples
“Jessi was breathless when she reappeared at the top of the stairs.â€
“Another breathless climb brought our adventurers to a third landing where there was a rift in the mountain.â€
“Who are you? asked Anatole in a breathless whisper.â€
Etymology
late 14c., "unable to breathe," from breath + -less. Meaning "out of breath, panting" is from mid-15c. Also used from 1590s in the sense "dead." Meaning "forgetting to breathe" due to excitement, awe, anticipation, etc. is recorded from 1765.
breath (n.)
Old English bræð "odor, scent, stink, exhalation, vapor" (Old English word for "air exhaled from the lungs" was æðm), from Proto-Germanic *bræthaz "smell, exhalation" (source also of Old High German bradam, German Brodem "breath, steam"), perhaps from a PIE root *gwhre- "to breathe; smell."
-less
word-forming element meaning "lacking, cannot be, does not," from Old English -leas, from leas "free (from), devoid (of), false, feigned," from Proto-Germanic *lausaz (cognates: Dutch -loos, German -los "-less," Old Norse lauss "loose, free, vacant, dissolute," Middle Dutch los, German los "loose, free," Gothic laus "empty, vain"), from PIE root *leu- "to loosen, divide, cut apart." Related to loose and lease.