tyre

tyre · noun, verb¹

1. Middle English · inherited fromtir(e)
2. English todaytyre

Attested in the sense “rim of a wheel” since ca. 1500. Generally considered to be a use of Middle English tir(e), a clipped byform of atir (“equipment, furnishings, ornament”), whence modern attire. A less accepted theory derives it from the verb to tie. The spelling tyre was predominant in the 16th century, but largely gave way to tire in the 17th and 18th, before it was revived again outside North America in the 19th century.

tyre · noun²

1. Sanskrit · derived fromदधि
2. Tamil · borrowed fromதயிர்
3. English todaytyre

Borrowed from Tamil தயிர் (tayir), itself from Sanskrit दधि (dádhi). Doublet of dahi.

tyre · noun, verb³

Possibly a shortening of attire; or metathetically from a tire, with the 'a' viewed as indefinite article a.

Tyre · proper noun⁴

1. Phoenician · derived from𐤑𐤓“rock”
2. Ancient Greek · derived fromΤύρος
3. Latin · borrowed fromTyrus
4. English todayTyre

From Latin Tyrus, from Ancient Greek Τύρος (Túros), from Phoenician 𐤑𐤓 (ṣr /⁠Ṣur⁠/, “rock”) (), after the rocky formation on which the town was originally built. Compare Aramaic טוּרָא / ܛܘܪܐ (ṭūrā, “mountain, high territory”), Akkadian 𒌷𒀫𒊒 (ᵁᴿᵁṣur-ru /⁠Ṣurru⁠/), Tarifit aẓru (“rock”), Central Atlas Tamazight ⴰⵥⵔⵓ (aẓru, “stone”), Proto-Semitic *ṯ̣Vrr- (“flint”). Cognate to Arabic صُور (ṣūr), Hebrew צוֹר (Tzor), Tiberian Hebrew צר (Ṣōr), Turkish Sur.

Words from the same roots