'breathy' originates from the English word 'breath', where 'breath' meant 'the air taken into or expelled from the lungs'.

'breath' changed from the Old English word 'bræþ', which meant 'odor or exhalation', and eventually became the modern English word 'breath'.

Initially, it meant 'odor or exhalation', but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'the air taken into or expelled from the lungs'.