Gaspers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term for those who breathe heavily or audibly, especially after exertion or due to emotional distress
2. also refers to devices used in breathing assistance or the act of drawing breath with difficulty
3. additionally, can describe a group of individuals who are reliant on oxygen for survival in challenging environments

Etymology: "Gaspers" is the plural of "gasper," a plain English formation: the verb "gasp" (to breathe with short, labored effort) plus the agent suffix "-er," meaning one who does the action. A gasper, then, is someone who gasps, and the plural names a group of such people. The suffix has a longer ancestry than the word it is attached to. The "-er" ending comes through Middle English and Old French from the Latin "-arius," which denoted a person connected with or performing something, and it reached English as a productive tool for making agent nouns from verbs. English speakers have used it for centuries to build words like "baker" and "singer," and "gasper" follows the same pattern.

Synonyms: breathless people, panting individuals, wheezers, gaspers, people gasping

Antonyms: calm breathers, steady breathers