tiro Italian · revision 38193

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=before 1540, Francesco Guicciardini}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈti.ro/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''tiro''' ''m'' (plural tiri)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a noun formed from [[tirare]], without a suffix.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)^(Devoto 1968) The same kind of noun is [[fr|tir]], from [[m|fr|tirer]], which first meant the shot of a bow in the 13th century, and [[es|tiro]].^(DEI|3802)

+

+ The verb comes from a Vulgar Latin [[m|la-vul|*tīrō|alt=*tīrāre]], whose origin is still unknown in spite of its spread and frequency.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) Nocentini tentatively relates it to [[la|terō|t=to rub, wear away]], through a sense “to wear, to stretch by exercise”.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in Francesco Guicciardini, before 1540, for shooting with a missile weapon.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999) In his ''History of Italy'' “il secondo tiro” (the second shot) struck Giovanni de' Medici and broke his leg above the knee.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 16th century the word was military: a charge or cartridge (1582), the range of a missile (1582, Antonio Lupicini, ''a tiro'' in 1734) and, in Filippo Sassetti, a cannon.^(DEI|3802) Galileo, before 1642, used it in several senses of the act of pulling.^(DELI 1999) In 1612 Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger used it for a mean trick played on someone who does not expect it, as in ''un brutto tiro''.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|3802) A carriage drawn by animals is recorded in 1686, the draught of a vehicle before 1742 and ''bestia da tiro'' in 1879.^(DEI|3802)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The ''tiro a segno'', target shooting, is recorded in 1862 (in 1427 it had been the “game of the arquebus”), and ''tiro a volo'' in 1926, after French ''tir au vol''.^(DEI|3802) In football and other ball games ''tiro'' became a shot at goal (''tiro in porta'', 1938).^(DELI 1999) In colloquial use it is also a puff on a cigarette, and ''essere in tiro'' is to be smartly dressed.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1540 – Francesco Guicciardini uses ''tiro'' for a shot.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1582 – The word is used for a charge and for the range of a missile.^(DEI|3802)

+ * 1612 – Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger uses it for a trick.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1642 – Galileo uses it for pulling.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1686 – It names a carriage drawn by animals.^(DEI|3802)

+ * 1862 – ''Tiro a segno'' is recorded.^(DEI|3802)

+ * 1926 – ''Tiro a volo'' is recorded.^(DEI|3802)

+ * 1938 – ''Tiro in porta'' is recorded in football.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|draught]], the pulling of a vehicle by animals; the animals and vehicle together, as in ''tiro a quattro'' (four-in-hand).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # [[m|en|shooting]] with a weapon; a single [[m|en|shot]]: ''Al terzo tiro il cacciatore ha colpito la lepre.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # A throw of an object; a throw in a game, as of dice or bowls.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(sports)'' A shot at the goal or basket: ''Un tiro da fuori area ha deciso la partita.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A dirty [[m|en|trick]] played on someone, as in ''giocare un brutto tiro''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' A puff on a cigarette or pipe: ''Fammi fare un tiro.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(theatre)'' A system of pulleys for raising scenery and lights.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(mountaineering)'' A pitch, the stretch of a climb between two belays.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[tirassegno]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tirare]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common phrases are ''a un tiro di schioppo'' (a stone's throw away), ''essere a tiro'' (within range, also figuratively) and ''alzare il tiro'' (to aim higher).^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) Old Italian had a separate ''tiro'', a venomous snake, from Late Latin ''tirus'', probably from [[grc|θήρ|tr=thḗr|t=wild beast]]: Ariosto speaks of a voice that would move “aspidi e tiri” (asps and vipers) to pity.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GDLI) Another obsolete ''tiro'' meant purple dye, after the city of Tyre, in Italian ''Tiro''.^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(Wiktionary) DEI also records ''tiro'' (1329) for a horse's habit of biting the manger and sucking in air.^(DEI|3802)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}