Other forms: respites
A respite is a short rest from something difficult — a pause in pain, in work, in bad weather. A brief respite, no respite from the noise, a moment's respite.
The word always implies that the difficulty will return, which is what separates it from relief. It is formal and appears most in writing about illness, weather and pressure. There is one important technical use: respite care is temporary care that gives a family carer a break, and it is a defined service in health and social care. Note the pronunciation, which has moved: RES-pit is the traditional British form, and res-PITE is now widely heard.
1nounrespiteA short rest from something difficult or unpleasant.
“There was no respite from the heat for a fortnight.”
2nountemporaryTemporary care that gives a regular carer a break.
“The family gets two weeks of respite a year.”
respite is a pause from difficulty.
Old French respit came from Latin respectus, a looking back — the same word that gives English respect. A respite was originally a delay granted after somebody looked at your case again, which is why it still carries the sense of a pause given rather than taken.
Proto-Indo-European
*speḱ-
Latin
respectus
Old French
respit — rest
English, today
respite
From Anglo-Norman - and Old French respit (“rest”), from Latin respectus. a doublet of respect.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA