tire

英文词源

tire

tire: [OE] Tire is something of a mystery word. It was relatively common in the Old English period (where it originally meant ‘fail, cease, come to an end’ – ‘become weary’ is a secondary development), but then it disappeared, to return in the 14th century. Nor is anything certain known about its pre-English ancestry, although it may go back to the Indo-European base *deus- (source also of Sanskrit dosa- ‘fault, lack’). The use of the past participle tired as an adjective dates from the late 14th century.

tire (v.1)

"to weary," also "to become weary," Old English teorian (Kentish tiorian) "to fail, cease; become weary; make weary, exhaust," of uncertain origin; according to Watkins possibly from a PIE *deu-s-, suffixed form of root *deu- (1) "to lack, be wanting." Related: Tired; tiring.

tire (n.)

late 15c., "iron plates forming a rim of a carriage wheel," probably from tire "equipment, dress, covering" (c. 1300), a shortened form of attire (n.). The notion is of the tire as the dressing of the wheel. The original spelling was tyre, which had shifted to tire in 17c.-18c., but since early 19c. tyre has been revived in Great Britain and become standard there. Rubber ones, for bicycles (later automobiles) are from 1877. A tire-iron originally was one of the iron plates; as a device for separating a tire from a wheel, by 1909.

tire (v.2)

"furnish with a tire," 1899, from tire (n.).