See also: pincér

English

edit

Alternative forms

edit

Etymology

edit

From Middle English pynsor, from Old French pinceure, pinchure, from pincier (to pinch).

Pronunciation

edit

Noun

edit

pincer (plural pincers)

  1. Any object that resembles one half of a pair of pincers.

Derived terms

edit

Verb

edit

pincer (third-person singular simple present pincers, present participle pincering, simple past and past participle pincered)

  1. (transitive, sometimes figurative) To surround with a pincer attack.
    • 1984, Robert Lamb, Competitive Strategic Management, page 115:
      After considering all frontal counteroffensive alternatives, Heublein rejected them as detrimental to its profits and came up with a brilliant pincering maneuver. It raised the price of Smirnoff by one dollar, effectively preventing segment diffusion, []
    • 2004, Rex Weyler, Greenpeace:
      The minesweeper and the sea tug now came along either side, pincered the Vega, and seemed to be ushering it toward Moruroa, perhaps attempting to push the ketch inside the 12-mile limit.

Anagrams

edit

French

edit

Etymology

edit

Inherited from Old French pincier, pincer (to pinch).

Pronunciation

edit

Verb

edit

pincer

  1. to pinch (skin)
  2. (informal) to pinch (to arrest)
  3. (music) to pluck (a stringed instrument)
  4. (colloquial) to fancy
    • 2024 May 25, “Couples Erasmus”, in Libération, →ISSN, page 5:
      Je devais accompagner à une soirée une copine espagnole qui en pinçait pour un Irlandais qui parlait danois, ce qui pour nous, à l’époque, était le summum de l’intégration.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Conjugation

edit

This verb is part of a group of -er verbs for which 'c' is softened to a 'ç' before the vowels 'a' and 'o'.

Derived terms

edit

Further reading

edit

Anagrams

edit

Old French

edit

Etymology

edit

From Vulgar Latin *pinciāre (to puncture, pinch).

Verb

edit

pincer

  1. to pinch

Conjugation

edit

This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. The forms that would normally end in *-c, *-cs, *-ct are modified to z, z, zt. In addition, c becomes ç before an a, o or u to keep the /ts/ sound intact. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

Descendants

edit

Further reading

edit