Etymologically
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wire

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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
  • 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