Friday, August 31, 2007

Bated Breath?

Where does the phrase Bated Breath come from?

Found the info below here.

The phrase means anxiously or with great anticipation.

I don't remember and can't find my source on this but I think that "Bated" is a shortened version of "abated", which means "to slow down". In the case of "bated breath" this would mean to slow down your breathing or hold your breath.

Curiously, people hold their breath when in anticipation. Perhaps so as not to be distracted by breathing.

"Bated" is no longer commonly used, causing people to believe the expression to be "with baited breath". This common misspelling leads to confusion and strange imagery.

Maybe some other contributors can verify all of this.

If someone has bated breath they are holding their breath with suspense or fear. This use of bated is about the only example left in the English language; abate is much more common. Both words come from the Old French "abatre", to "beat down" or "fell".

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Life is a moving, breathing thing. We have to be willing to constantly evolve. Perfection is constant transformation. See the link below for more info.


#breathing
www.mocsbar.com

Unknown said...

Couldn't be written any better. Reading this post reminds me of my old room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!


Sorn
www.gofastek.com