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Webster 1828 Edition

Noun.

Pause; temporary intermission of labor, or of any process or operation; interval of rest.

Some pause and respit only I require.

In law, reprieve; temporary suspension of the execution of a capital offender.

Delay; forbearance; prolongation of time for the payment of a debt beyond the legal time.

The delay of appearance at court granted to a jury, beyond the proper term.

, v.t.

To relieve by a pause or interval of rest.

To respit his day-labor with repast.

To suspend the execution of a criminal beyond the time limited by the sentence; to delay for a time.

To give delay of appearance at court; as, to respit a jury.

respit ‎(plural respits)

From Latin respectus, from the verb respecto ‎(“I look back”).

respit m ‎(oblique plural respiz or respitz, nominative singular respiz or respitz, nominative plural respit)

rest (physical rest)
- circa 1176, Chrétien de Troyes, Cligès:
  Molt volantiers, que ja respiz n'an sera priz
  Willingly, straight away [i.e. without taking rest first]