# respite

Pronunciation: US say "RES-pit" /ˈɹɛs.pɪt/; UK say "RES-pyt" /ˈɹɛsˌpaɪt/

## Noun

1. A brief period of rest, or of relief from something unpleasant.
   - Simple: A short break from something hard, tiring or unpleasant.
   - _The cool evening brought a brief respite from the summer heat wave._
   - _The storm battered the coast for three days without respite._
2. A legal reprieve, especially one that suspends or delays the carrying out of a death sentence.
   - Simple: An official order that stops or delays a punishment, especially the death penalty.
   - _Hours before the execution, the governor granted a respite while new evidence was reviewed._
   - _Under the new law, a death sentence cannot be carried out while a respite is in force._
5. A delay, granted to a jury, in appearing at court beyond the proper term.
   - Simple: Extra time given to a jury before its members must come to court.
   - _Because half the panel was ill, the judges allowed the jury a respite to the following term._
   - _The sheriff obtained a respite for the jurors when floods cut off the county town._

## Verb

3. To defer an event, putting it off until later.
   - Simple: To move an event to a later time.
   - _The board voted to respite the sale of the land until the survey was finished._
   - _The council respited the vote until more members could attend._
4. To allow someone extra time to meet an obligation.
   - Simple: To give a person more time to do something they owe or have promised.
   - _The college will respite students who cannot pay their fees by the deadline._
   - _His creditors agreed to respite the merchant until his ships returned._

## Origin

From Anglo-Norman and Old French respit ("rest"), from Latin respectus. It is a doublet of respect.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/respite (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).