Breathalyse

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To examine a driver's breath with a portable device that estimates how much alcohol is present in the blood
2. To check whether a person has been drinking by having them blow into an instrument that measures alcohol content
3. To test someone for intoxication by analysing a sample of their exhaled breath using a special measuring device

Etymology: "Breathalyse" is a back-formation: English speakers took the noun "breathalyser" and, treating the "-er" ending as an agent suffix, stripped it off to produce a verb. In other words, the verb came after the noun rather than before it. The noun itself is the older and more basic coinage, built from "breath" and "analyser" (the device that analyses a sample), so the verb simply means to use that instrument on someone's breath. The result is a word that describes a process whose name was invented first. "Breathalyser" was made from common parts for a specific machine, and "breathalyse" followed as a shorter way to describe using it. The verb's meaning is therefore tied directly to the device: to measure alcohol in a person's breath.

Synonyms: breathalyze, test