tyre

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a port in southern Lebanon on the Mediterranean Sea; formerly a major Phoenician seaport famous for silks
  2. noun hoop that covers a wheel

Etymology

Attested in the sense “rim of a wheel” since ca. 1500. Generally considered to be a use of Middle English tir(e), a clipped byform of atir (“equipment, furnishings, ornament”), whence modern attire. A less accepted theory derives it from the verb to tie. The spelling tyre was predominant in the 16th century, but largely gave way to tire in the 17th and 18th, before it was revived again outside North America in the 19th century.

In classic literature

Synonyms

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