wire

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /waɪə/, /ˈwaɪ.ə/, US /ˈwaɪ.ɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English wyre, inherited from Old English wīr (“metal drawn out into a thread”),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *wīraz, the source also of Old High German wiara “finest gold” and Old Norse víravirki “filigree work”,^[3][2][5] probably from Proto-Indo-European *wei- (“to turn, twist, plait”), the base also of Latin viēre “to plait, weave”.^[2][5][6] It is related to withy.^[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Fine gold filigree worn as an ornament: Old English wīr is in Beowulf, about 725.^[3][2][7]

Semantic evolution

Any metal, such as iron or copper, drawn out into a thread is from 1348.^[7] Metal strings of a musical instrument are from the late 14th century.^[2] A wire as an electrical conductor is by 1747, a telegraph wire by 1846, and the telegraph system generally by 1859,^[2] which led to sending a message by wire in the 1850s.^[8] The wire service sending news to papers is by 1894.^[2] A wire across a racecourse marking the finish is from 1883, which gave down to the wire, undecided until the last moment, from American horse racing in the late 19th century.^[2][8] The verb, to adorn with gold wire, is from before 1300,^[3][2] to fasten with wire from 1435,^[3] to send a telegram from 1859, and to furnish with electrical wiring from 1891.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 725 – fine gold filigree.^[3]
• 1348 – any metal drawn out.^[7]
• 1435 – verb, to fasten with wire.^[3]
• 1747 – an electrical conductor.^[2]
• 1859 – the telegraph; to telegraph.^[2]
• 1883 – a racecourse finish wire.^[2]
• 1891 – to wire for electricity.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A thin flexible thread or rod of metal.
2. A length of such metal used to carry electricity or a signal.
3. A telegram, or the telegraph system.
4. A hidden microphone, as on a person's body.

Verb

1. To fasten or connect with wire.
2. To fit a building or device with electrical wires.
3. To send a message or money by telegraph.

Word family

• wirable
• wirelike
• wirer
• hot-wire
• miswire
• prewire
• rewire
• overwire

Related words

• wireless
• wiring
• wiry
• withy

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press