'aspirer' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'aspirare', where the prefix 'ad-' plus 'spirare' meant 'to breathe upon' or 'to blow on'.

'aspirer' changed from the Latin verb 'aspirare' into Old French 'aspirer', then into Middle English as 'aspire'; the Modern English noun 'aspirer' arose by adding the agentive suffix '-er' to the verb 'aspire'.

Initially it meant 'to breathe upon' (a literal sense), but over time it evolved into the sense 'to desire or strive for something', which is its current primary meaning.