hire

hire · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*kewHs-
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*hūzijaną
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*hūʀiju“payment”
4. Old English · inherited fromhȳr“employment for wages; pay for service; interest on money lent”
5. Middle English · inherited fromhire
6. English todayhire

From Middle English hire, hyre, here, hure, from Old English hȳr (“employment for wages; pay for service; interest on money lent”), from Proto-West Germanic *hūʀiju (“payment”), from the verb *hūʀijan, from Proto-Germanic *hūzijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *kewHs- or *kweHs-. Compare Hittite 𒆪𒊭𒀭 (kuššan-, “fee, pay, wages, price”). Cognate with West Frisian hier (“hire”), Dutch huur (“lease, rental”), German Low German Hüür (“lease, rental”).

hire · verb²

1. Old English · inherited fromhȳrian“to hire”
2. Middle English · inherited fromhiren
3. English todayhire

From Middle English hiren, hyren, from Old English hȳrian (“to hire”), from the noun (see above). Compare West Frisian hiere (“to rent, lease”), Dutch huren (“to rent, lease”), Low German hüren (“to rent”), Danish hyre (“to hire”), Swedish hyra (“to hire”). Eclipsed Middle English souden (“to hire, employ, enlist”), borrowed from Old French souder, soudre, souldre (“to take into employ, pay”); see obsolete English sold (“salary, military pay”).

Hire · proper noun³

* As a Dutch and German surname, Americanized from Heier, Heyer. * As an English surname, variant of Heare. * As an Irish surname, variant of Hare.