tirer
French
Etymology
From Middle French tirer (“to draw, draw a sword”), from Old French tirer (“to draw, pull out with great effort, snatch violently, tear away”),.from Medieval Latin, from Vulgar Latin *tīrō, tīrāre, of uncertain origin, but probably Germanic; possibly from Gothic *𐍄𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌽 (*tiran, “to tear away, remove”), from Proto-Germanic *teraną (“to tear, tear apart”), from Proto-Indo-European *der- (“to tear, tear apart”).
Compare Italian tirare; Catalan, Portuguese, and Spanish tirar. If derived from the Germanic word, cognate with Gothic 𐌳𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌽 (distairan, “to tear apart”), 𐌲𐌰𐍄𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌽 (gatairan, “to tear down, remove”), German zerren (“to tug”). Related to English tear. Alternatively from a reduction of Old French martirier, from Late Latin *martyrāre.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ti.ʁe/
audio (file)
Verb
tirer
- to draw, drag, pull
- to shoot
- to draw (conclusions), to consider (consequences)
- to leave a place
- to set free, to deliver
- 1954, Georges Simenon, Maigret et la jeune morte [Maigret and the Dead Girl]:
- Ils s'imaginent qu'en ne répondant pas, ou qu'en répondant n'importe quoi, quitte à se contredire toutes les cinq minutes, ils parviendront à s'en tirer.
- They imagine they can save themselves by refusing to answer questions—or by answering at random and even contradicting themselves every five minutes.
-
Conjugation
Conjugation of tirer (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| infinitive | simple | tirer | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | tirant /ti.ʁɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | tiré /ti.ʁe/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | tire /tiʁ/ | tires /tiʁ/ | tire /tiʁ/ | tirons /ti.ʁɔ̃/ | tirez /ti.ʁe/ | tirent /tiʁ/ |
| imperfect | tirais /ti.ʁɛ/ | tirais /ti.ʁɛ/ | tirait /ti.ʁɛ/ | tirions /ti.ʁjɔ̃/ | tiriez /ti.ʁje/ | tiraient /ti.ʁɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | tirai /ti.ʁe/ | tiras /ti.ʁa/ | tira /ti.ʁa/ | tirâmes /ti.ʁam/ | tirâtes /ti.ʁat/ | tirèrent /ti.ʁɛʁ/ | |
| future | tirerai /ti.ʁə.ʁe/ | tireras /ti.ʁə.ʁa/ | tirera /ti.ʁə.ʁa/ | tirerons /ti.ʁə.ʁɔ̃/ | tirerez /ti.ʁə.ʁe/ | tireront /ti.ʁə.ʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | tirerais /ti.ʁə.ʁɛ/ | tirerais /ti.ʁə.ʁɛ/ | tirerait /ti.ʁə.ʁɛ/ | tirerions /ti.ʁə.ʁjɔ̃/ | tireriez /ti.ʁə.ʁje/ | tireraient /ti.ʁə.ʁɛ/ | |
| (compound tenses) | present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior2 | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | tire /tiʁ/ | tires /tiʁ/ | tire /tiʁ/ | tirions /ti.ʁjɔ̃/ | tiriez /ti.ʁje/ | tirent /tiʁ/ |
| imperfect2 | tirasse /ti.ʁas/ | tirasses /ti.ʁas/ | tirât /ti.ʁa/ | tirassions /ti.ʁa.sjɔ̃/ | tirassiez /ti.ʁa.sje/ | tirassent /ti.ʁas/ | |
| (compound tenses) | past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | tire /tiʁ/ | — | tirons /ti.ʁɔ̃/ | tirez /ti.ʁe/ | — | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
| 1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). | |||||||
Derived terms
- à couteaux tirés
- à tire-d'aile
- à tire-larigot
- bon à tirer
- quand le vin est tiré, il faut le boire
- retirer
- se tirer sur l'élastique
- se tirer une balle
- tirage
- tiré à quatre épingles
- tire-bouchon
- tiré d'affaire
- tire-fond
- tiré par les cheveux
- tirer à boulets rouges
- tirer à conséquence
- tirer à la courte paille
- tirer à sa fin
- tirer au clair
- tirer au flanc
- tirer au sort
- tirer d'un mauvais pas
- tirer en longueur
- tirer la couverture à soi
- tirer la gueule
- tirer la langue
- tirer la sonnette d'alarme
- tirer la tronche
- tirer le diable par la queue
- tirer les ficelles
- tirer les marrons du feu
- tirer les oreilles
- tirer les vers du nez
- tirer parti
- tirer profit
- tirer sa crampe
- tirer sa révérence
- tirer son chapeau
- tirer son épingle du jeu
- tirer son plan
- tirer sur la corde
- tirer un coup
- tirer une épine du pied
- tirer un trait
- tireur
Related terms
- tir
- tir à l'arc
Further reading
- “tirer”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
- trier
Gallo
Etymology
From Old French tirer (“draw, pull”). Compare meaning in French traire (“to milk”), itself from Old French traire (“to draw, pull”).
Verb
tirer
- (transitive, agriculture) to milk (cows)
Middle French
Alternative forms
- tyrer
Etymology
From Old French tirer (“to draw, pull out with great effort, snatch violently, tear away”), from Medieval Latin, from Vulgar Latin *tirō, tirāre, of uncertain origin; possibly from Gothic *𐍄𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌽 (*tiran, “to tear away, remove”), from Proto-Germanic *teraną (“to tear, tear apart”), from Proto-Indo-European *derə- (“to tear, tear apart”).
Verb
tirer
- to pull
Conjugation
- Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.
Conjugation of tirer
| infinitive | simple | tirer | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle1 or gerund2 | simple | tirant | |||||
| compound | present participle or gerund of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | tiré | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | ie (i’) | tu | il, elle | nous | vous | ilz, elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | tire | tires | tire | tirons | tirez | tirent |
| imperfect | tirois, tiroys | tirois, tiroys | tiroit, tiroyt | tirions, tiryons | tiriez, tiryez | tiroient, tiroyent | |
| past historic | tira | tiras | tira | tirasmes | tirastes | tirerent | |
| future | tirerai, tireray | tireras | tirera | tirerons | tirerez | tireront | |
| conditional | tirerois, tireroys | tirerois, tireroys | tireroit, tireroyt | tirerions, tireryons | tireriez, tireryez | tireroient, tireroyent | |
| (compound tenses) | present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que ie (i’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ilz, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | tire | tires | tire | tirons | tirez | tirent |
| imperfect | tirasse | tirasses | tirast | tirassions | tirassiez | tirassent | |
| (compound tenses) | past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | tire | — | tirons | tirez | — | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
| 1 The present participle was variable in gender and number until the 17th century (Anne Sancier-Château [1995], Une esthétique nouvelle: Honoré d'Urfé, correcteur de l'Astrée, p. 179). The French Academy would eventually declare it not to be declined in 1679. | |||||||
| 2 The gerund was held to be invariable by grammarians of the early 17th century, and was usable with preposition en, as in Modern French, although the preposition was not mandatory (Anne Sancier-Château [1995], op. cit., p. 180). | |||||||
Descendants
- French: tirer
Old French
Etymology
From Medieval Latin, from Vulgar Latin *tīrō, tīrāre, of uncertain origin, probably Germanic; possibly from Gothic *𐍄𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌽 (*tiran, “to tear away, remove”), from Proto-Germanic *teraną (“to tear, tear apart”), from Proto-Indo-European *derH- (“to tear, tear apart”).
Verb
tirer
- to pull
- circa 1210, Henri de Valenciennes, Histoire de l'empereur Henri de Constantinople
- Ne onkes li Ascres ne tira ses regnes duskes a tant k'il vint a Niké le Grant
- circa 1210, Henri de Valenciennes, Histoire de l'empereur Henri de Constantinople
Conjugation
This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.
Conjugation of tirer (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)
| simple | compound | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | tirer | avoir tiré | |||||
| gerund | en tirant | Use the gerund of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| present participle | tirant | ||||||
| past participle | tiré | ||||||
| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | jo | tu | il | nos | vos | il | |
| simple tenses | present | tir | tires | tire | tirons | tirez | tirent |
| imperfect | tiroie, tireie, tiroe, tireve | tiroies, tireies, tiroes, tireves | tiroit, tireit, tirot, tireve | tiriiens, tiriens | tiriiez, tiriez | tiroient, tireient, tiroent, tirevent | |
| preterite | tirai | tiras | tira | tirames | tirastes | tirerent | |
| future | tirerai | tireras | tirera | tirerons | tireroiz, tirereiz, tirerez | tireront | |
| conditional | tireroie, tirereie | tireroies, tirereies | tireroit, tirereit | tireriiens, tireriens | tireriiez, tireriez | tireroient, tirereient | |
| compound tenses | present perfect | Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| past anterior | Use the preterite tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que jo | que tu | qu’il | que nos | que vos | qu’il | |
| simple tenses | present | tir | tirs | tirt | tirons | tirez | tirent |
| imperfect | tirasse | tirasses | tirast | tirissons, tirissiens | tirissoiz, tirissez, tirissiez | tirassent | |
| compound tenses | past | Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | tu | – | nos | vos | – | |
| — | tire | — | tirons | tirez | — | ||
Descendants
- Middle French: tirer
- French: tirer