pierce
See also: Pierce
English
editPronunciation
edit- (General American) IPA(key): /pɪɹs/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /pɪəs/
- (obsolete) IPA(key): /pɜː(ɹ)s/
Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)s
Etymology 1
editFrom Middle English perce, from conjugated forms of Old French percier such as (jeo) pierce (“I pierce”), probably from Vulgar Latin *pertūsiō, from Latin pertūsus, past participle of pertundō (“thrust or bore through”), from per- (“through”) + tundō (“beat, pound”). Displaced native Old English þȳrlian (literally “to hole”).
Verb
editpierce (third-person singular simple present pierces, present participle piercing, simple past and past participle pierced)
- (transitive) To puncture; to break through.
- The diver pierced the surface of the water with scarcely a splash.
- to pierce the enemy's line; a shot pierced the ship
- 1700, [John] Dryden, “Theodore and Honoria, from Boccace”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
- I pierce her open back, or tender side
- 1926, A[rthur] [S]tanley Eddington, “Survey of the Problem”, in The Internal Constitution of the Stars, page 1:
- What appliance can pierce through the outer layers of a star and test the conditions within?
- (transitive) To create a hole in the skin for the purpose of inserting jewelry.
- Can you believe he pierced his tongue?
- (transitive) to break or interrupt abruptly
- A scream pierced the silence.
- (transitive, figurative) To get to the heart or crux of (a matter).
- to pierce a mystery
- (transitive, figurative) To penetrate; to affect deeply.
- 1715–1720, Homer, translated by Alexander Pope, “Book XI”, in The Iliad of Homer, volumes (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC:
- pierced with grief
- c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:
- Can no prayers pierce thee?
- 2022 November 30, Paul Bigland, “Destination Oban: a Sunday in Scotland”, in RAIL, number 971, page 75:
- The flatness of the landscape facilitates views right across the Firth of Forth to Fife, before the railway begins to pierce the Edinburgh suburbs.
Derived terms
editDescendants
editTranslations
editto pierce — see puncture
puncture
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create a hole for jewelry
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interrupt
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
Etymology 2
editBorrowed from Japanese ピアス (piasu, “pierced earring”), itself from English pierce.
Noun
editpierce (plural pierces)
Anagrams
editCategories:
- English 1-syllable words
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- Rhymes:English/ɪə(ɹ)s
- Rhymes:English/ɪə(ɹ)s/1 syllable
- English terms inherited from Middle English
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- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English lemmas
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