The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Respite \Res"pite\ (r?s"p?t), n. [OF. respit, F. r['e]pit, from
   L. respectus respect, regard, delay, in LL., the deferring of
   a day. See Respect.]
   1. A putting off of that which was appointed; a postponement
      or delay.
      [1913 Webster]

            I crave but four day's respite.       --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Temporary intermission of labor, or of any process or
      operation; interval of rest; pause; delay. "Without more
      respite." --Chaucer.
      [1913 Webster]

            Some pause and respite only I require. --Denham.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Law)
      (a) Temporary suspension of the execution of a capital
          offender; reprieve.
      (b) The delay of appearance at court granted to a jury
          beyond the proper term.
          [1913 Webster]

   Syn: Pause; interval; stop; cessation; delay; postponement;
        stay; reprieve.
        [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Respite \Res"pite\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Respited; p. pr. & vb.
   n. Respiting.] [OF. respiter, LL. respectare. See
   Respite, n.]
   To give or grant a respite to. Specifically:
   (a) To delay or postpone; to put off.
   (b) To keep back from execution; to reprieve.
       [1913 Webster]

             Forty days longer we do respite you. --Shak.
       [1913 Webster]
   (c) To relieve by a pause or interval of rest. "To respite
       his day labor with repast." --Milton.
       [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

respite
    n 1: a (temporary) relief from harm or discomfort [syn:
         reprieve, respite]
    2: a pause from doing something (as work); "we took a 10-minute
       break"; "he took time out to recuperate" [syn: respite,
       recess, break, time out]
    3: an interruption in the intensity or amount of something [syn:
       suspension, respite, reprieve, hiatus, abatement]
    4: a pause for relaxation; "people actually accomplish more when
       they take time for short rests" [syn: respite, rest,
       relief, rest period]
    5: the act of reprieving; postponing or remitting punishment
       [syn: reprieve, respite]
    v 1: postpone the punishment of a convicted criminal, such as an
         execution [syn: reprieve, respite]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

109 Moby Thesaurus words for "respite":
   abeyance, afterthought, bind, block, blockage, blow, break, breath,
   breather, breathing, breathing place, breathing space,
   breathing spell, breathing time, bureaucratic delay, caesura,
   catharsis, cease-fire, cigarette break, cleansing, cocktail hour,
   coffee break, day off, delay, delayage, delayed reaction,
   deliverance, detention, discharge, double take, downtime, dragging,
   drop, emotional release, enforced respite, extension, freeing,
   grace, grant a reprieve, half time, half-time intermission, halt,
   hang-up, happy hour, hesitation, hiatus, hindrance, holdup,
   holiday, interim, interlude, intermezzo, intermission,
   intermittence, interregnum, interruption, interval, jam, lag,
   lagging, lapse, layoff, letup, logjam, lull, moratorium,
   obstruction, off-time, paperasserie, pause, plateau,
   point of repose, postponement, purgation, purge, purging,
   quiet spell, recess, red tape, red-tapeism, red-tapery, release,
   relief, remission, removal, reprieve, rest, resting point,
   retardance, retardation, slow-up, slowdown, slowness, spell,
   stand-down, stay, stay of execution, stop, stoppage, surcease,
   suspension, tea break, tie-up, time lag, time off, time out, truce,
   vacation, wait



Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

RESPITE, contracts, civil law. An act by which a debtor who is unable to
satisfy his debts at the moment, transacts (i. e. compromises) with his
creditors, and obtains from them time or delay for the payment of the sums
which he owes to them. Louis. Code, 3051.
     2. The respite is either voluntary or forced; it is voluntary when all
the creditors consent to the proposal, which the debtor makes to pay in a
limited time the whole or a part of his debt; it is forced when a part of
the creditors refuse to accept the debtor's proposal, and when the latter
is obliged to compel them by judicial authority, to consent to what the
others have determined in the cases directed by law. Id. 3052; Poth.
Proced. Civ. 5eme partie, ch. 3.
     3. In Pennsylvania, there is a provision in the insolvent act of June
16, 1836, s. 41, somewhat similar to involuntary respite. It is enacted,
that whenever a majority in number and value of the creditors of any
insolvent, as aforesaid, residing within the United States, or having a
known attorney therein, shall consent in writing thereto, it shall be lawful
for the court by whom such insolvent shall have been discharged, upon the
application of such debtor, and notice given thereof, in the manner
hereinbefore provided for giving notice of his original petition, to make an
order that the estate and effects which such insolvent may afterwards
acquire, shall be exempted for the term of seven years thereafter from
execution, for any debt contracted, or cause of action existing previously
to such discharge, and if after such order and consent, any execution shall
be issued for such debt or cause of action, it shall be the duty, of any
judge of the court from which such execution issued, to set aside the same
with costs.
     4. Respite also signifies a delay, forbearance or continuation of time.



Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

RESPITE, crim. law. A suspension of a sentence, which is to be executed at a
future time. It differs from a pardon, which is in abolition of the crime.
See Abolition; Pardon.



The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):

RESPITE, n.  A suspension of hostilities against a sentenced assassin,
to enable the Executive to determine whether the murder may not have
been done by the prosecuting attorney.  Any break in the continuity of
a disagreeable expectation.

    Altgeld upon his incandescent bed
    Lay, an attendant demon at his head.

    "O cruel cook, pray grant me some relief --
    Some respite from the roast, however brief."

    "Remember how on earth I pardoned all
    Your friends in Illinois when held in thrall."

    "Unhappy soul! for that alone you squirm
    O'er fire unquenched, a never-dying worm.

    "Yet, for I pity your uneasy state,
    Your doom I'll mollify and pains abate.

    "Naught, for a season, shall your comfort mar,
    Not even the memory of who you are."

    Throughout eternal space dread silence fell;
    Heaven trembled as Compassion entered Hell.

    "As long, sweet demon, let my respite be
    As, governing down here, I'd respite thee."

    "As long, poor soul, as any of the pack
    You thrust from jail consumed in getting back."

    A genial chill affected Altgeld's hide
    While they were turning him on t'other side.
                                                       Joel Spate Woop