English

Noun

respite ‎(plural respites)

1. A brief interval of rest or relief.
   • Denham

     Some pause and respite only I require.

   • Shakespeare

     I crave but four day's respite.

   • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 10, in The Mirror and the Lamp:

     It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.

   • 2013 May 23, Sarah Lyall, "British Leader’s Liberal Turn Sets Off a Rebellion in His Party," New York Times (retrieved 29 May 2013):

     Mr. Cameron had a respite Thursday from the negative chatter swirling around him when he appeared outside 10 Downing Street to denounce the murder a day before of a British soldier on a London street.

2. (law) A reprieve, especially from a sentence of death.
3. (law) The delay of appearance at court granted to a jury beyond the proper term.

Translations

Verb

respite ‎(third-person singular simple present respites, present participle respiting, simple past and past participle respited)

1. (transitive) To delay or postpone.

Translations