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tire

Etymology and origin of the English word tire

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Tire, to weary, is from Old English tēorian; tire, the band round a wheel, is probably a shortening of attire.[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈtaɪ̯ə(ɹ)/ (UK); /ˈtaɪ̯ɚ/, /ˈtɑːɚ/ (US)[4]

tire1 weary

Confidence
Unknown
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1000
Inherited from
Old English tēorian via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Old English (tēorian)

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English tyren, inherited from Old English tēorian (“to fail, cease, become weary”), Kentish tiorian,[1][2][3] of unknown origin;[1][3][5] Watkins suggests Proto-Germanic *teuzon, from Proto-Indo-European *deu-, to lack.[2] The OED notes that its original form is hard to determine without Germanic cognates.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To become weary, to fail: about 1000, Kentish tiorian before 800.[1]

Semantic evolution

To exhaust or weary someone is also Old English.[2][6] The spelling tyren is recorded before 1460.[1] To exhaust the patience or interest of, to bore, is a later sense.[7][5] Tiresome is from 1500–20,[1][3] and tireless from 1608.[1]

Timeline

  • before 800 – tiorian (Kentish).[1]
  • c. 1000 – to weary.[1]
  • 1500–20 – tiresome.[1]
  • 1608 – tireless.[1]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To make or become weary or exhausted; to fatigue.
  2. To make or become bored or impatient: to tire of his chatter.

Word family

  • tired
  • tireless
  • tiresome
  • tiring

tire2 wheel

Confidence
Uncertain
Formation
Clipping
First attested
1485
Ultimate origin
English (attire)

Etymology

It is probably an extended use of tire, equipment, dress, covering (about 1300),[1][2] a shortened form of attire,[1][2][3] the notion being the tire as the dressing of the wheel.[2] The theory that it is tie-er has been discarded.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The curved iron plates forming the rim of a carriage wheel: 1485, as tyre.[1][8][2]

Semantic evolution

A band of rubber on the rim of a wheel is first recorded in 1877, when rubber tyres were in use for bicycles, later for cars.[1][2] In the 17th and 18th centuries tire was the standard spelling in Britain and America, but since the early 19th century tyre has been revived and become standard in Britain, while tire continued in the United States.[1][2] The verb, to fit with a tire, is from before 1899.[1] A tire-iron, for levering a tire off a wheel, is by 1909.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – tire, attire.[1]
  • 1485 – iron rim of a wheel.[1]
  • 1877 – rubber tire.[1]
  • 1909 – tire-iron.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (US) A rubber covering for a wheel, usually filled with compressed air (British tyre).
  2. A hoop of metal or rubber fitted round a wheel.

Word family

  • tyre
  • tiring-house
  • attire
  • weary

Usage notes

Tire was also a woman's headdress or attire, from the same shortening of attire, and gave the theatre's tiring-house (1580s) and tiring-room, where actors dressed.[2][7][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  5. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Tire.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/tire. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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