tire English · revision 10518

+ Tire, to weary, is from Old English tēorian; tire, the band round a wheel, is probably a shortening of attire.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈtaɪ̯ə(ɹ)/ ''(UK)''; /ˈtaɪ̯ɚ/, /ˈtɑːɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ {{homograph|1|weary}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=unknown|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1000|origins=ang tēorian}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English tyren, [[inh|ang|tēorian|t=to fail, cease, become weary]], Kentish tiorian,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) of unknown origin;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Collins 2023) Watkins suggests Proto-Germanic *teuzon, from PIE *deu-, to lack.^(Etymonline) The OED notes that its original form is hard to determine without Germanic cognates.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To become weary, to fail: about 1000, Kentish tiorian before 800.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ To exhaust or weary someone is also Old English.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) The spelling tyren is recorded before 1460.^(Barnhart 1988) To exhaust the patience or interest of, to bore, is a later sense.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) ''Tiresome'' is from 1500–20,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) and ''tireless'' from 1608.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 800 – tiorian (Kentish).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1000 – to weary.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1500–20 – tiresome.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1608 – tireless.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make or become weary or exhausted; to [[fatigue]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To make or become bored or impatient: ''to tire of his chatter''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[tired]]

+ * [[tireless]]

+ * [[tiresome]]

+ * [[tiring]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|wheel}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=clipping|attested=1485|origins=en attire}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is probably an extended use of tire, equipment, dress, covering (about 1300),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) a shortened form of [[attire]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) the notion being the tire as the dressing of the wheel.^(Etymonline) The theory that it is tie-er has been discarded.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The curved iron plates forming the rim of a carriage wheel: 1485, as tyre.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==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.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) 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.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The verb, to fit with a tire, is from before 1899.^(Barnhart 1988) A tire-iron, for levering a tire off a wheel, is by 1909.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – tire, attire.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1485 – iron rim of a wheel.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1877 – rubber tire.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1909 – tire-iron.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(US)'' A rubber covering for a wheel, usually filled with compressed air (British [[tyre]]).^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A hoop of metal or rubber fitted round a wheel.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[tyre]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[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.^(Etymonline)^(AHD)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}