lirt
English
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)t
Etymology 1
From Middle English lirten, lurten (“to cheat”), from Old English *lyrtan (found only in belyrtan (“to deceive”)), from Proto-Germanic *lurtijaną (“to deceive”), from Proto-Indo-European *lerd- (“to bend, crook”). Cognate with Scots lirt (“to cheat, deceive, delude”), Middle High German lürzen (“to deceive”), Middle High German lerz, lurz, lorz (“left, left-handed”), Old English lort, lyrt (“crooked”).
Alternative forms
- lirte
Verb
lirt (third-person singular simple present lirts, present participle lirting, simple past and past participle lirted)
- (transitive, Britain dialectal) To deceive; beguile.
- (transitive, Britain dialectal) To cheat; befool.
Derived terms
- belirt
Noun
lirt (plural lirts)
- (Britain dialectal) Deception; guile.
- (Britain dialectal) A cheat; a go-by.
Etymology 2
Origin obscure. Perhaps alteration of lirk (“to jerk”).
Verb
lirt (third-person singular simple present lirts, present participle lirting, simple past and past participle lirted)
- (transitive, Britain dialectal) To toss.
- (intransitive, Britain dialectal) To walk or move in a quick, lively, or pert manner.
- (intransitive, Britain dialectal) To gambol; frisk.
Anagrams
- tirl