Definition of "aspirate" []

• Linguistics To pronounce (a vowel or word) with the initial release of breath associated with English h, as in hurry. (verb-transitive)
• Linguistics To follow (a consonant, especially a stop consonant) with a puff of breath that is clearly audible before the next sound begins, as in English pit or kit. (verb-transitive)
• To draw (something) into the lungs; inhale. (verb-transitive)
• Medicine To remove an abnormal accumulation of (a liquid or gas) from the body by aspiration. (verb-transitive)
• Medicine To suction (a body part or growth, for example) for the removal of a liquid or a gas. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Latin or Greek word begins with an aspirate, the English word begins with a medial; thus the Latin 'f' is found responsive to the English"
• "“h,” she half-closed her eyes and drew in her breath with a semi-audible groan, as if the aspirate were a missile that had struck her."
• "-- This only added to the "bird wing" theory a new argument that all flying things must have outstretched wings, in order to fly, forgetting that the ball, which has no outstretched wings, has also the same "aspirate" movement attributed to the wings of the bird."