retire English · revision 10292

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1533|origins=frm retirer}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɹɪˈtaɪə/ ''(UK)''; /ɹəˈtaɪɹ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|retirer|t=to withdraw]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from re-, back, and Old French tirer, to draw (see [[tirade]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To retreat, go back, of armies: 1533, in Bellenden's translation of Livy.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ To go away for seclusion or rest is first recorded in 1538,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) and the transitive sense, to withdraw something, from the 1540s.^(Etymonline) To withdraw from an occupation or office is from 1667, in Pepys,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) and to leave company and go to bed from 1670, in Dryden.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) ''Retirement'' is from the 16th century,^(Hoad 1986) and ''retiree'' from 1945, in American English.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1533 – to retreat.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1538 – to withdraw for rest.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1667 – to leave one's occupation.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1670 – to go to bed.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1945 – retiree.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To give up one's work or office, especially on reaching pensionable age.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To withdraw, as for rest or seclusion.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To go to bed.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To fall back or retreat, as from battle.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To withdraw from use or circulation.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(baseball)'' To put out a batter.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[retirer]]

+ * [[retirant]]

+ * [[unretire]]

+ * [[retiree]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[retirement]]

+ * [[retreat]]

+ * [[tirade]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Scots, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire dialect, to retire a bill was to take it up and pay it when due.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}